Blue Origin blames New Glenn fireball on engine oxygen valve

Small modifications under way as Bezos's rocket biz races to rebuild pad and fly again this year

Blue Origin has identified the engine component at the center of May's spectacular New Glenn pad explosion, which left the Jeff Bezos space tentacle facing a substantial rebuild.

"The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, which was later confirmed by hardware recovery and inspections," CEO Dave Limp posted.

Limp did not explain the valve's failure mode or explain how the anomaly led to the explosion.

New Glenn, whose first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, was on the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36 for a preflight hotfire test in May when it suddenly exploded. The blast destroyed the rocket and key ground equipment.

Blue Origin has since been rebuilding the facility at a breakneck pace. In June, Limp...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to theregister.com. To see the full text click HERE