Blue Origin rocket massively explodes during engine-firing test
The Blue Origin rocket exploded during a test at the launchpad Thursday night, sending intense shockwaves to nearby homes.
On Thursday night, May 28, 2026, the Jeff Bezos-owned company's rocket exploded at around 9 am ET, with emergency officials stating there is no threat because of any potential dangers, and no injuries reported.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Blue Origin released a statement, which read, "We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test."
"All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more" the statement added.
The massive New Glenn was grounded in April after it left a satellite in the wrong orbit due to technical issues.
Shortly after the massive explosion was heard, the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36 was visible from the beach, and the social media users rapidly started posting photos of an orange fireball.
For those unaware, Blue Origin successfully launched its third New Glenn rocket last month.
The New Glenn made its debut in 2025 from Cape Canaveral. It is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
This rocket was being prepared for the fourth New Glenn mission as soon as June 4 to launch 48 satellites for Amazon's Leo internet service, aiming to outdo Elon Musk's Starlink.
