FAA Closes New Glenn Mishap Investigation
Authorizes Return to Flight for the Orbital-Class Booster
The FAA-required investigation of the Blue Origin New Glenn-1 mishap that occurred on Jan. 16 is closed. There were no public injuries or public property damage.
“We knew landing our booster, So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance, on the first try was an ambitious goal."
Dave Limp, Blue Origin
The FAA oversaw and accepted the findings of the Blue Origin-led investigation. The final mishap report identified the proximate cause of the mishap as an inability of New Glenn's first stage to restart the engines, preventing a reentry burn from occurring, and resulting in the loss of the stage.
The mission was otherwise successful, with the payload reaching its expected orbit. “We knew landing our booster, So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance, on the first try was an ambitious goal," said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp following the launch in January. "We’ll learn a lot from today and try again at our next launch this spring."
Blue Origin identified seven corrective actions to prevent reoccurrence of the event. The FAA will verify that Blue Origin implements corrective actions prior to the launch of the New Glenn-2 mission.
The Blue Origin New Glenn vehicle is authorized to return to flight provided all other licensing requirements are met.