Blue Origin rocket explodes during Florida test

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday evening during a ground test ahead of a forthcoming launch, destroying the vehicle and raising new questions about the company's timeline for supporting NASA's Artemis program.

Video footage shows fire engulf the rocket, on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36, at about 9 p.m. It explodes moments later, producing a massive fireball that appears to completely obliterate the pad and everything on it. The blast shook homes in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, and residents turned to social media as the orange fireball lit up the coast — Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach.

"We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test. All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more," Blue Origin posted on social media. Founder Jeff Bezos wrote that the team was safe, and the company said it was too early to know the root cause but was already working to find it.

Here's some of the footage:

Yikes…Blue Origin's New Glenn just blew up at LC-36 while attempting to Static Fire ahead of NG-4.

— Shipwreck (@shipwreck75.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T01:25:35.501Z

And another angle:

Another angle of tonight's explosion of Blue Origin's New Glenn during a Static Fire Test at Launch Complex 36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Original post

— OSINTdefender (MIRROR) (@sentdefenderx.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T01:57:01.113Z

In a statement, the U.S. Space Force confirmed that no one was injured or killed: "Emergency responders are on the scene. All personnel have been accounted for and there were no injuries/fatalities. … Range officials, in coordination with Blue Origin and appropriate partners, are currently evaluating available data to determine the exact cause of the anomaly. Additional information will be released as it becomes available." Officials added that the Eastern Range remains fully mission capable and continues to support operations at all other launch complexes.

Other imminent launches are planned tomorrow at the complex, by SpaceX and by the United Launch Alliance; The Orlando Sentinel reports that they are expected to proceed.

The failure came during a hotfire test, in which the rocket's first-stage engines are briefly ignited while the vehicle is held down on the pad, one of the last milestones before launch. Because Blue Origin had been preparing to fuel the rocket, it was likely loaded with propellant, which would account for the scale of a blast described by Sean O'Kane as one of the largest rocket explosions in U.S. history.

The rocket was preparing to launch satellites for the Amazon Leo broadband constellation, the company's planned rival to SpaceX's Starlink. But with the explosion, Blue Origin won't be flying again for a while: extensive repairs will be needed at Launch Complex 36, the only pad assigned to New Glenn. The timing is punishing, coming just three days after the FAA cleared New Glenn to return to flight following its last setback, when it failed to achieve enough altitude to deploy its satellite payload. NASA is counting on New Glenn to be able to provide Blue Moon lunar landers for the Artemis moon program, as an official alternative to SpaceX's Human Landing System.

Bezos' space company seemed well-positioned to compete with SpaceX, with access to stupendous amounts of capital and sucessfully sending New Glenn (named for John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth) into orbit last year. But it lags far behind SpaceX's, whose Falcon 9 has already flown hundreds of successful missions.