Blue Origin delays New Glenn launch

Blue Origin moved its New Glenn return-to-flight mission from December to January on Thursday. The company disclosed the schedule change alongside the reveal of a new kick stage for the rocket and a new rocket engine design. The delay follows a catastrophic explosion at the Cape Canaveral launch pad nearly six months ago.

Construction to reconstruct the wrecked launch pad in Florida continues. NASA, Amazon, and the Space Force have expressed demand for the vehicle to return to action. The delay is described as minor and widely expected by industry observers.

Separately, three former SpaceX employees are developing satellites that use water as a propellant. The Carlisle brothers, who worked during the Falcon 9 era, founded Argo Space in late 2022. The company aims to build space infrastructure that reduces the need to launch propellants from Earth.

Argo Space utilizes water as a propellant, coolant, and radiation shield. The system functions as a small rocket that burns hydrogen and oxygen. Instead of carrying separate tanks for liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, the satellites hold a reservoir of liquid water.

The spacecraft uses solar power to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen gases. The vehicle then burns these gases to generate thrust. This approach allows the satellites to use a resource that is potentially harvestable on the Moon and found throughout the Solar System.

Argo Space flew its first mission in July. The spacecraft failed after one solar array failed to deploy. The team did not have enough time to test the propulsion system during that flight. The company has scheduled two additional missions for 2027 to demonstrate the water-based thrusters.