Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Explodes On Its Launchpad

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has exploded on its launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station while the company was conducting ground tests for an upcoming launch. The company explained that it “experienced an anomaly” during a hotfire test and will provide more details about the incident when it learns more. On X, company owner Jeff Bezos said all personnel are safe and account for. Blue Origin has already started investigating, but it’s too early to know the root cause of the explosion. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying,” he added. “It’s worth it.

As you can see in the footage of the explosion above, it pretty much obliterated the rocket, the structure and the equipment around it. As The New York Times reports, that’s Blue Origin’s only launchpad for New Glenn, and it could take several months for the company to repair it. 

The incident could affect Blue Origin’s participation in NASA’s Artemis and Moon Base programs, wherein it’s expected to provide a commercial lunar lander for both cargo and crew. NASA even chose Blue Origin over SpaceX for the Moon Base I mission, which it’s hoping to launch this fall. Blue Origin’s lunar missions require the use of its New Glenn rocket, but with its launchpad now out of commission, NASA may have to rethink its plans. 

“NASA is aware of the anomaly that occurred tonight at Launch Complex 36 involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X. “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets. We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available.”

Blue Origin has only just gotten clearance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to launch its New Glenn rocket again. The FAA grounded New Glenn after it had failed to put the payload it was carrying into orbit in its third mission. It oversaw the company’s investigation and determined that the incident was caused by a “cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn.” After the FAA gave the company permission to launch New Glenn again, it quickly started preparing the rocket for its next mission, which will clearly not happen anytime soon.