CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad Thursday evening, creating a massive fireball, shaking homes and briefly painting the sky orange.
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The explosion occurred about 9 p.m. Eastern Time. No one was hurt, according to officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said on social media. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
“It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it,” said Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos via X. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
Video posted to social media showed the fireball on the launch pad. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach, and the internet quickly filled with photos of the explosion.
Emergency crews remained more than an hour after the explosion. Officials stressed there was no threat due to fumes or other potential hazards.
Blue Origin was set to fuel the rocket on Thursday ahead of a planned test firing of the rocket’s engines, CBS News said. The company was preparing to launch next week to put 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit.
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New Glenn made its debut in 2025 from Cape Canaveral. It is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The rocket was grounded in April after it left a satellite in the wrong orbit because of engine failure. It was only the third flight of the rocket that Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for NASA.
Blue Origin had been on track to launch a prototype lunar lander to the moon on a flight test this fall. Earlier this week, the space agency awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch a pair of moon buggies in the next few years as part of the Artemis program.
“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said via X. He promised to provide information on any impacts to the Artemis program, including the moon base that he recently outlined.
Space Force officials said the explosion would not affect upcoming launches by other companies from other pads. United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is due to blast off Friday night with a batch of Amazon Leo satellites, the same kind that this rocket was supposed to take up.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk, who’s had his own share of rocket explosions, offered his condolences. “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly,” he told Blue Origin via X.
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