A New Glenn rocket belonging to Blue Origin exploded dramatically on the launch pad during a test on Thursday, marking a significant setback for Jeff Bezos’ space company as it seeks to close the gap with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Footage from Florida showed the rocket igniting on the launch pad at around 21:00 local US time before erupting into a massive fireball that lit up the sky and sent thick clouds of fire and smoke into the air.
Blue Origin confirms “anomaly”
Blue Origin described the incident as an “anomaly”, a term commonly used in the space industry to describe a failed test or explosion.
“We had an anomaly during today’s static fire test. All personnel are safe. We will provide more information as we collect data,” the company said in a post on X.
A static fire test involves igniting the rocket’s engines while the vehicle remains securely anchored to the ground.
Bezos says flights will resume
In a separate post, Jeff Bezos said it was still too early to determine the exact cause of the incident.
“Very tough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever we need to and be back flying soon. Worth the effort,” Bezos wrote.
The Blue Origin explosion comes as the company continues efforts to compete more aggressively in the commercial space sector against SpaceX and other private launch providers.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket just exploded during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This will likely set back the previous launch window set in early June, as Blue Origin looks to put its Amazon LEO constellation of broadband… pic.twitter.com/bpDFYUcrgG
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 29, 2026
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