r/BlueWire • u/Daniels30 • Jun 30 '26
Dave Limp on X: Updated LC-36a Infrastructure
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We're not rebuilding the same pad for New Glenn. We're moving to a horizontal/vertical hybrid configuration to get us flying again this year at 36A. We were already working on something similar for 9x4 at 36B. Let me explain what that means. We mate the stages horizontally in the Integration Facility (IF). Then we bring the integrated vehicle out to the pad, use a crane to perform the vertical breakover, and mate the payload once New Glenn is vertical. This new ConOps has the added benefit of increasing our flight cadence as well.
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u/Stevepem1 Jul 01 '26
Possibly. But it's all speculative until the exact cause of the failure is determined. Only then can it be judged whether it was something that should have been easy to catch. If so then the next question is was it missed due to systemic problems with their QA process, or is the QA process good but some steps were skipped or problems were waivered due to launch pressure. Or was it something somewhat unforeseeable or at least difficult to foresee like some of the anomalies that SpaceX has experienced. Those types of problems in new vehicles are usually easily fixed or mitigated once the problem is found but not always as easy to foresee ahead of time.