A Blue Origin rocket, owned by Jeff Bezos, experienced an explosion during a test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday night. The blast shook local homes and lit up the sky briefly in orange. The company reported that the New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine test, which was part of preparations for a scheduled satellite launch next week. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported.
Jeff Bezos commented, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it.” He assured that the company would rebuild and resume operations.
This explosion follows a past incident in April where the New Glenn left a satellite in the wrong orbit due to engine failure. This complicates efforts by Blue Origin to launch its landers to the moon for NASA, including missions that involve landing astronauts on the lunar surface. The company had a fall test planned to launch a prototype lunar lander.
Earlier in the week, NASA awarded Blue Origin a substantial contract to deploy two moon buggies in upcoming years as part of the Artemis program. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledged the difficulties of spaceflight, expressing plans to update on any impacts the incident may have on the Artemis program, such as the moon base project.
The explosion was noticed by residents in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach around 9 p.m., with some sharing photos of the fiery scene online. Despite the dramatic event, officials confirmed there were no environmental hazards.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V is still set to launch Friday night with a batch of Amazon Leo satellites, unaffected by the explosion. Elon Musk, from SpaceX, extended his sympathy via X, expressing hope for Blue Origin’s recovery.
Standing 321 feet tall, New Glenn, named after astronaut John Glenn, first launched in 2025. It’s significantly larger than the New Shepard rockets previously used by Blue Origin for space tourism missions.