Blue Origin rocket explosion: Aerial views show charred remains at launchpad

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]NOW.

[00:00:02]WESH TWO NEWS STARTS NOW WITH BREAKING NEWS.

[00:00:05]AND RIGHT NOW, AT NOON, YOU ARE LOOKING AT WHAT’S LEFT OF LAUNCH COMPLEX 36 AT CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION.

[00:00:12]TAKE A LIVE LOOK HERE FROM CHOPPER TWO.

[00:00:15]IT’S A LAUNCH PAD THAT IS NOW A SHELL OF ITSELF.

[00:00:19]AFTER LAST NIGHT’S BLUE ORIGIN EXPLOSION.

[00:00:21]HERE’S WHERE THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW.

[00:00:23]THE CAUSE OF THIS EXPLOSION IS STILL UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.

[00:00:26]THERE ARE NO REPORTS OF INJURIES, BUT OFFICIALS ARE NOW WARNING EVERYONE THAT DEBRIS MAY WASH ASHORE IN THE COMING DAYS AND WEEKS, AND COULD BE HAZARDOUS.

[00:00:34]THE IMPACT FROM THAT BLAST WAS SEEN AND FELT ALL OVER CENTRAL FLORIDA.

[00:00:39]GOOD FRIDAY AFTERNOON.

[00:00:40]I’M JASON GUY AND I’M CHRISTINA WATKINS.

[00:00:43]WE HAVE TEAM COVERAGE ON THIS BREAKING STORY.

[00:00:45]ERIC BURRIS IS LIVE AT KENNEDY SPACE CENTER WITH THE VERY LATEST ON THE INVESTIGATION AND RESPONSE.

[00:00:50]BOB HAZEN IS ALONG THE COAST WHERE DEBRIS FROM THE ROCKET EXPLOSION COULD EVENTUALLY WASH ASHORE.

[00:00:55]AND MEAGHAN MACKEY IS EXPLAINING WHAT WITNESSES SAW AND HEARD WHEN THE BLAST HAPPENED.

[00:01:00]BUT WE BEGIN WITH SANIKA DANGE LIVE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA’S ONLY EYE IN THE SKY OVER THE BLUE ORIGIN LAUNCH SITE.

[00:01:07]SANIKA.

[00:01:24]AN AMAZING VIEW FROM CHOPPER TWO HERE.

[00:01:28]ORLANDO’S ONLY NEWS CHOPPER.

[00:01:30]WE ARE TODAY GETTING OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE DAMAGE SUSTAINED AT THE LAUNCH PAD AFTER LAST NIGHT’S BLUE ORIGIN EXPLOSION.

[00:01:37]SO LET’S GET YOU RIGHT TO IT.

[00:01:40]GIVE YOU A LIVE LOOK HERE AT LAUNCH PAD 36.

[00:01:43]WE ARE JUST SOUTH OF THE LAUNCH PAD, SO WE ARE LOOKING NORTH.

[00:01:47]THIS IS THE LAUNCH PAD THAT BLUE ORIGIN OPERATES OUT OF.

[00:01:51]AND YOU CAN JUST SEE EXTENSIVE DAMAGE.

[00:01:53]I MEAN, SO MUCH DAMAGE THAT IT’S HARD TO TELL EXACTLY WHAT WE’RE LOOKING AT.

[00:01:57]JUST A TON OF DEBRIS IN THE AREA.

[00:01:59]AND JUST SOUTH OF THIS LAUNCH PAD, ACTUALLY, WE WERE ALSO MONITORING CREWS WE’VE SEEN ON THEIR PROPERTY STARTING TO ASSESS ALL OF THE DAMAGE THERE.

[00:02:07]THEY ARE HERE.

[00:02:08]BUT YOU CAN SEE WE’VE SEEN OURS COLLAPSED AND METAL SHARDS EVERYWHERE.

[00:02:13]AROUND 9:00 LAST NIGHT, ENGINEERS WERE CONDUCTING A ROUTINE HOT FIRE OF THE ROCKET’S 784 ENGINES AHEAD OF ITS EXPECTED LAUNCH NEXT WEEK.

[00:02:20]THAT ROCKET WAS FULLY LOADED WITH LIQUID OXYGEN AND METHANE AT THE TIME, AND THAT’S WHY WE SAW THE FIREBALL THAT WE DID WHEN IT EXPLODED.

[00:02:28]THE EXPLOSION DESTROYED THE NEW GLENN BOOSTER NAMED NOAA.

[00:02:31]IT’S NECESSARY.

[00:02:31]AND NOW WE ARE GETTING A LOOK AT SOME OF THE OTHER DAMAGE TO THE LAUNCH PAD.

[00:02:35]ONE OF THE LIGHTNING PROTECTION TOWERS.

[00:02:37]THAT’S WHAT WE WERE JUST SHOWING YOU THAT WAS SEEN FALLING OVER AFTER THE EXPLOSION.

[00:02:41]THERE ARE ALSO SEVERAL HANGARS, BUILDINGS AND TEST SITES THAT SIT AROUND IT.

[00:02:45]THOSE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY SOME OF THE STRUCTURES THAT NASA ADMINISTRATOR JARED ISAACMAN AND OTHERS WILL BE FOCUSED ON TODAY AS THEY SPEND TIME ON SITE TO ASSESS ALL OF THE DAMAGE.

[00:02:55]AND IT IS SO MUCH THE BOOSTERS PAYLOADS SET TO LAUNCH NEXT WEEK, WHICH WAS A STACK OF AMAZON LEO SATELLITES, WAS, OF COURSE NOT ON THE PAD, SO THEY DIDN’T HAVE ANY DAMAGE.

[00:03:05]BUT AS WE TAKE A LOOK HERE AT LAUNCH COMPLEX 36.

[00:03:08]KEEP IN MIND IT TOOK NEARLY A YEAR TO REBUILD LAUNCH COMPLEX 40 AFTER A SMALLER FALCON NINE ROCKET EXPLODED IN 2016.

[00:03:15]SO NATURALLY, WE’RE ANXIOUSLY AWAITING TO HEAR JUST HOW MUCH DAMAGE WAS SUSTAINED LAST NIGHT, BECAUSE THIS IS A DEFINITE SETBACK FOR THE ARTEMIS MISSION.

[00:03:22]BLUE ORIGIN’S NEW SHEPARD ROCKET HAS SUCH A CRITICAL COMPONENT.

[00:03:26]MOST IMPORTANTLY HERE, NOBODY WAS INJURED AND THAT IS BECAUSE THEY DO CLEAR THE LAUNCH PADS WHILE THEY DO TESTS OF THIS SORT.