# The Great Ongoing Space Exploration Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** science-math\ **Created:** [November 16, 2020, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703 "2020-11-16T12:18:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 120
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2026, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2383 "2026-04-20T09:51:09Z")
Good bet somebody was cursing a blue streak once they found out about the orbit. _Sacre bleu!_ Seriously, that’s a damned shame. Hope they, and we, get to the bottom of that soon. In the modern telemetry era you’d not expect a major off-nominal in trajectory would be a surprise to anyone. But this sorta sounds like it was. Or maybe that’s just poor word choice by the authors. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2384 "2026-04-26T18:08:35Z")
The next Starship test launch will be in ~~March~~ ~~April~~ May (???) What happened to move fast, break things fast iteration? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2385 "2026-04-26T18:20:01Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > What happened to move fast, break things fast iteration? It broke fast. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2386 "2026-04-26T21:30:59Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > What happened to move fast, break things fast Stuff’s breaking so fast you don’t even have to launch first. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2026, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2387 "2026-05-24T05:57:38Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Blue Origin blue it, uh, blew it with a New Glen satellite launch. They reused a first stage, recovered the used stage, but failed to get the big-ass payload to the right orbit > “The final mishap report identified the direct cause of the mishap as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn,” the agency stated. “Blue Origin identified nine corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence of the event,” the FAA added > **[Blue Origin completes investigation into New Glenn launch failure](https://spacenews.com/blue-origin-completes-investigation-into-new-glenn-launch-failure/)** > > Blue Origin has completed the investigation into the failure on the third flight of its New Glenn rocket, clearing launches of the vehicle to resume. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2388 "2026-05-29T02:25:41Z")
Speaking of New Glenn… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/1O90WZJALYc/maxresdefault.jpg "Breaking News: Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes during launch pad test") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O90WZJALYc) ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2389 "2026-05-29T02:59:32Z")
That was incredible to watch, but horrible for Blue Origin. Wow. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2390 "2026-05-29T04:50:46Z")
A static fire test, no satellites aboard. Awesome but … ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2391 "2026-05-29T12:19:40Z")
Was that at planned engine start time, or a randomly timed explosion during preparations? As best I could tell, I didn’t see anything that looked like a standard engine start. More like a propellant leak that found a source of ignition. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2392 "2026-05-29T12:56:29Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Was that at planned engine start time, or a randomly timed explosion during preparations? Static engine firing test for the first stage (no second stage mounted). This was a stage that was planned to be launched soon. > **[Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes during prelaunch testing at Cape...](https://spaceflightnow.com/2026/05/29/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-explodes-during-prelaunch-testing-at-cape-canaveral/)** ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2393 "2026-05-29T13:02:15Z")
Yes, I got that the entire evolution was a planned static test fire. And I see this new cite says it did in fact happen during the planned engine start, not at some other random moment seconds, minutes, or hours earlier in their pre-fire countdown. Which was the question I was trying to ask. Still not good news, but IMO better news than a random propellant leak or rogue fire way out of time sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2394 "2026-05-29T13:18:08Z")
On the scale of bad news, with an accident that kills people at a 10, I’d rate an accident that obliterates your only launch pad as a 9. This wasn’t a slightly bad test for Blew Upagain, this is a major disaster. And a big delay for Artemis, too. NASA had just a couple of days ago given them a contract for some moon rover launches. > **[NASA Provides Update on Moon Base Rovers, Landers, Missions - NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-provides-update-on-moon-base-rovers-landers-missions/)** > > During a Moon Base event Tuesday at NASA’s Headquarters in Washington, the agency announced new contracts for lunar rovers for crew to drive and uncrewed ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2395 "2026-05-29T14:36:13Z")
Destroying a pad is always, as you say, a very bad thing. Really fouls up your schedule. But rebuilding it is simply conventional terrestrial civil engineering. Even worse if you also discover you need significant first stage redesign to prevent a recurrence. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2396 "2026-05-29T14:51:03Z")
> Multiple sources have confirmed that there is significant damage to Blue Origin’s launch site in Florida, LC-36A. The company invested years and at least hundreds of millions of dollars in this facility… The company does not have another launch site for New Glenn. It has begun preliminary work on a nearby pad, LC-36B, and has plans to develop another site at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. But these projects are just getting started. **Rebuilding the company’s pad, or finishing a new one, will likely take at least a year** , even with a major effort by Blue Origin, and drawing upon Jeff Bezos’ nearly infinite resources. **One source familiar with pad rebuilds estimated that 15 months was a “best case” scenario**. > **[Here's why the failure of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is so catastrophic](https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/heres-why-the-failure-of-blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-is-so-catastrophic/)** > > I hope that it makes it far enough away from the pad that it does not cause pad damage." ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2397 "2026-05-29T17:30:29Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > [Here's why the failure of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is so catastrophic - Ars Technica](https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/05/heres-why-the-failure-of-blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-is-so-catastrophic/) A year to 15 months to fix the pad. Ouch. I wonder if Space-x can take on the moon lander contracts ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2398 "2026-05-31T03:18:04Z")
At least this one isn’t fodder for the Musk bashers. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2399 "2026-05-31T03:40:51Z")
This was actually what I most feared for Artemis, and I sure am glad that mission worked out. ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2026, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2400 "2026-05-31T18:35:17Z")
Some estimates emerging on the energy release from the Blue Origin New Glenn booster explosion during hot fire testing. The detonation caused a 2.5 magnitude quake on the Richter scale. Presuming the booster was fully loaded with propellant, that roughly implies that a third to a half was involved in the initial detonation, with the rest being burned off in the fireball. [![](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/q_60,fl_lossy,dpr_3,h_100,w_71,c_scale,f_avif/v200/as4bkxfudqa3thxbmcci) ](https://images.spot.im/image/upload/q_60,fl_lossy,dpr_3,h_100,w_71,c_scale,f_avif/v200/as4bkxfudqa3thxbmcci) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2026, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2401 "2026-06-01T21:10:08Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Speaking of New Glenn… > > [https://youtu.be/1O90WZJALYc?si=u-V3mqD305vadKKT](https://youtu.be/1O90WZJALYc?si=u-V3mqD305vadKKT) That blowed up _real_ good. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703/2402 "2026-06-17T22:56:49Z")
I ran across an interesting quote from Jeff Bezos: > One goal of space exploration is to move polluting industries off Earth, said Bezos, whose Blue Origin aims to compete with trillionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX in rockets. “If space travel gets reliable enough and inexpensive enough, and we can get materials from asteroids and near-Earth objects and the moon, then this garden planet can be returned to its pre-Industrial Revolution state,” > **[AI Will Lead To Labor Shortages, Bezos Says In Optimistic Talk - Slashdot](https://slashdot.org/story/26/06/17/1711214/ai-will-lead-to-labor-shortages-bezos-says-in-optimistic-talk)** > > An anonymous reader quotes a report from Reuters: Artificial Intelligence will lead to labour shortages, not the replacement of humans, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos predicted in a highly optimistic appearance at the VivaTech technology conference in... Anyone here this optimistic? I think removing pollution from industrial processes here on earth will always be cheaper. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=119) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-space-exploration-thread/925703.md?page=121)