The company said all personnel were accounted for after the New Glenn test failure at Cape Canaveral.
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL — A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test Thursday night at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, shaking nearby homes, lighting the sky over Florida’s Space Coast and leaving the company investigating what went wrong.
The blast matters because New Glenn is central to Blue Origin’s effort to compete in the heavy-lift launch market and support major commercial and government missions. The rocket had been expected to carry Amazon’s Leo internet satellites on an upcoming flight. Blue Origin said the test produced an anomaly and that all personnel were accounted for. The cause was not known Friday, and officials had not announced a new launch date.
The explosion happened about 9 p.m. Thursday during a hot-fire test, a ground test in which a rocket is fueled and its engines are fired while the vehicle remains secured. Video from spaceflight livestreams showed ignition followed by a sudden fireball at the Cape Canaveral pad. Blue Origin said in a statement that it “experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test” and that it would provide updates as more was learned. The company did not immediately say whether the rocket was fully destroyed, how badly the pad was damaged or when the test area would be cleared.
No injuries were reported after the blast. Emergency crews remained at the site after the explosion while officials checked the area and secured the launch complex. The fire and glow were visible from parts of Brevard County, where residents near the coast reported shaking and a bright orange flash. The Federal Aviation Administration said the event did not affect regional air traffic. Because the test was not a licensed launch, the next steps may differ from a flight mishap review, but the company and federal officials are still expected to examine data, debris and ground systems before New Glenn flies again.
New Glenn is Blue Origin’s large orbital rocket, named for John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The vehicle is designed to carry heavy payloads to low Earth orbit and higher-energy orbits. It uses a reusable first stage and launches from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has spent years developing the rocket as a direct challenger to SpaceX’s Falcon and Starship programs. Its Florida operations are also tied to the state’s broader launch economy, which depends on frequent commercial, military and NASA missions from Cape Canaveral and nearby Kennedy Space Center.
The explosion adds pressure after earlier New Glenn setbacks. The rocket reached orbit on its first mission in January 2025, and Blue Origin later reported a successful second mission in November 2025. A 2026 mission, however, ran into trouble when the upper stage failed to place a satellite into the planned orbit. The FAA had been involved in reviewing that earlier issue before New Glenn returned to flight planning. Thursday’s failure now places new attention on the rocket’s ground systems, engine-start sequence and pad safety procedures. Blue Origin has not released a technical explanation for the latest anomaly.
The destroyed or damaged hardware also could affect near-term customers. The rocket was expected to support Amazon’s low Earth orbit internet satellite plans, a program that needs repeated launches to build out its network. New Glenn also has a role in Blue Origin’s wider work with NASA, including lunar cargo and lander plans connected to the Artemis program. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said spaceflight is difficult and that the agency would support a full review. Elon Musk, whose SpaceX is Blue Origin’s largest U.S. launch rival, also responded publicly by noting the difficulty of rocket development.
Launch pad explosions are rare but not unprecedented in the commercial space industry. Companies often conduct hot-fire tests to find problems before flight, but failures on the pad can be costly because they may damage both the rocket and the launch infrastructure needed for future missions. At Cape Canaveral, any extended outage at a dedicated pad can ripple through launch schedules, payload processing and customer timelines. Blue Origin has not said whether it can shift any New Glenn work to another site or how long repairs at Launch Complex 36 might take.
Officials had not reported a public safety threat beyond the launch site by Friday. The main unanswered questions are what part of the system failed, whether the pad can be repaired quickly and how the explosion will affect Amazon, NASA and other planned customers. Blue Origin said its personnel were safe and that updates would follow after the investigation advances.
Author note: Last updated May 29, 2026.