Blue Origin’s new rocket exploded on the launchpad in Florida during a test to prepare for an upcoming launch, dealing a major blow to the Jeff Bezos-backed rocket company and its bid to challenge Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes during an engine-firing test on Thursday, May 28, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (@JConcilus via AP)
Associated Press
In a statement on X, Blue Origin said it experienced an “anomaly” during a “hotfire test” of its New Glenn rocket—a process where a rocket’s engines are ignited while it remains bolted to the launch pad.
Videos of the incident showed flames rising from beneath the rocket and rising upwards during the test fire, before everything exploded into a large fireball.
The company didn’t provide any details about the “anomaly” that caused the explosion, but noted that all “personnel have been accounted for.
According to the New York Times, the explosion damaged Blue Origin’s sole launchpad for the New Glenn rocket at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and repairs are likely to take several months.
Earlier this week, Blue Origin announced that the New Glenn rocket was being prepared to launch 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit. Leo is Amazon’s competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink’s satellite broadband internet service. The payload carrying the satellites was designated as LN-01 and Amazon said it would be the first of 24 planned Leo launches on Blue Origin’s latest reusable rocket. The Amazon satellites were not on board when the explosion occurred on Thursday night.
Billionaire and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said of the explosion: “All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Responding to Blue Origin’s announcement on X, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”
NASA administrator Jared Isaacman wrote the government space agency is “aware of the anomaly” involving the Blue Origin New Glenn test. “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.” The statement also added that NASA will share updates on any potential impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs “as it becomes available.”
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