Blue Origin’s New Glenn mega-rocket experienced an explosion during a test at a Cape Canaveral launch site, as shown in live streams from NASASpaceFlight.com and SpaceFlight Now. The explosion was later confirmed by Blue Origin.
Jeff Bezos’ space company was conducting a static fire test in preparation for an upcoming fourth launch of the rocket, which was intended to deploy Amazon Leo internet satellites into space. The rocket was likely fully fueled, contributing to what is considered one of the largest rocket explosions in U.S. history and Blue Origin’s most significant failure to date.
In an X post, Blue Origin reported that “[a]ll personnel have been accounted for,” while Bezos assured that everyone was “safe.” The company did not specify the cause of the explosion, only stating that an “anomaly” had taken place.
“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,” Bezos wrote.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman stated that the agency 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 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed JS that it was aware of the explosion and that there was “no impact to air traffic.” NASA and the Space Force have yet to respond to requests for comment.
The explosion likely means that Blue Origin will need to halt the New Glenn rocket program temporarily to address the issue. The company had planned to launch New Glenn up to 12 times this year, following nearly a decade of development aimed at competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Blue Origin is also expected to contribute to NASA’s Artemis missions to the moon, a role highlighted by the agency earlier this week. Isaacman mentioned that NASA will “provide any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available.”
Additionally, Blue Origin has aspirations to launch national security missions for the Pentagon.
“Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard,” Elon Musk commented on X shortly after the explosion. “I hope you recover quickly.”
This setback comes only weeks after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket completed its third flight, which also encountered a failure when the upper stage did not succeed in deploying an AST SpaceMobile satellite, resulting in a mission loss. The FAA had just cleared New Glenn for flight after Blue Origin investigated the previous incident.
A very new, late rocket
Blue Origin has invested years into developing New Glenn while utilizing its New Shepard program to test smaller sub-orbital rockets. Although New Shepard frequently carried wealthy individuals and celebrities to the edge of space, Blue Origin was steadily working on creating a rocket capable of delivering substantial commercial payloads, like large satellites, into orbit.
The project took longer than anticipated, but Blue Origin finally launched New Glenn for the first time in January 2025.
New Glenn demonstrated initial success by reaching orbit on its maiden flight, although the booster stage exploded before an attempted landing on a drone ship.
The second flight in November 2025 was more successful; Blue Origin launched twin spacecraft to Mars for NASA and successfully landed its first booster stage.
This success allowed Blue Origin to reuse the booster for New Glenn’s third mission, showcasing its ability to recover and refurbish the first stage—a crucial step in reducing launch business costs.
The reused booster performed well and landed a second time during New Glenn’s third mission in April 2026. However, a cryogenic failure in the upper stage led to the loss of the satellite.
The upcoming fourth mission was intended to be the first of 24 launches Amazon had contracted Blue Origin for. Amazon is building its Leo satellite internet network to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink. On Wednesday, Amazon praised its reliance on Blue Origin’s New Glenn, describing it as a “reusable, heavy-lift rocket.”
Amazon confirmed to JS late Thursday that no Leo satellites were aboard during this test.
Late Thursday, Congressman Mike Haridopolos (R-FL), representing the district including Cape Canaveral, shared on X that he had spoken with NASA administrator Jared Isaacman regarding the explosion.
“I am grateful there were no reported injuries and thankful for the first responders, engineers, and launch crews who acted quickly. Praying for Florida’s Space Coast and everyone involved,” he said.
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