Blue Origin's Glenn rocket explodes at launch pad in Florida's Cape Canaveral: ‘Wild footage’

Blue Origin confirmed the incident in a statement posted on X, saying, “We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test."

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a reported “hotfire test" at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday at roughly 9 pm ET. Thick flames and thick smoke were seen billowing across Launch Complex-36.

The explosion took place while Blue Origin was attempting a static fire test of its New Glenn rocket at Launch Complex-36 in Cape Canaveral.

It was anticipated that the massive 320-foot rocket would deploy 48 Amazon Leo broadband satellites into low-Earth orbit shortly.

Nasa administrator Isaacman said they are aware of the anomaly that occurred at launch Complex-36 involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, adding that a probe will be conducted to support assess near-term impacts.

“Nasa will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and moon base programmes as it becomes available,” the administrator said on X.

What happened during the New Glenn test?

The explosion took place while Blue Origin was attempting a static fire test of its New Glenn rocket at Launch Complex-36 in Cape Canaveral.

In order to assess propulsion systems before a real launch attempt, engineers conduct static fire tests in which rocket engines are ignited while the spacecraft is still attached to the launch pad.

Blue Origin confirmed the incident in a statement posted on X, saying, “We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test. All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

Static fire tests involve igniting rocket engines while the vehicle remains secured to the launch pad, allowing engineers to evaluate propulsion systems before an actual launch attempt.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos took to X to provide an update on the explosion. He wrote, “It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it."

He later said all personnel are accounted for and safe. “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,” he said.

Although Blue Origin has produced multiple New Glenn rockets, its capacity to launch additional rockets may be hampered by the potential destruction of its Florida launch pad. Space Journalist Eric Berger wrote, “This completely takes Blue Origin out of the Artemis picture for the next 12 months, most likely. All of those Moon Base missions, man, it’s bad.”

Elon Musk responds to the growing private space competition

Elon Musk, whose company still dominates the commercial launch market, was among the space industry leaders who responded to the disaster.

Responding to reports of the blast, Musk wrote on X, “Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard.”

This comes as Musk's own scheduled launch of his Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Friday, May 29, which will send more Starlink broadband satellites into orbit. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket is also scheduled to take off from the same city around twelve hours later.

Blue Origin's attempt to establish itself as a legitimate rival to Elon Musk's rocket firm depends heavily on New Glenn. The rocket will be crucial to Blue Origin's involvement in NASA's Artemis lunar missions, as well as those of SpaceX and other companies.

Bezos wrote, "Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”