Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket Explodes On Launchpad In Florida During Engine Test | N18G

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:02]Blue Origin has suffered a major setback. The space company founded by Jeff Bezos saw its uncrewed New Glenn rocket explode on the launch pad in Florida during an engine test on May 28th.

[00:00:15]The rocket ignited at around 9:00 p.m.

[00:00:17]Eastern time or 1:00 a.m. Greenwich Mean Time on May 29th before erupting into a massive fireball.

[00:00:27]Officials confirmed that no one was injured in the incident. Blue Origin later said it had experienced an anomaly during a hot fire test, a critical procedure where rocket engines are fired while the vehicle remains anchored to the ground.

[00:00:46]In a statement posted on X, the company said all personnel were accounted for and that investigations were underway.

[00:00:52]NASA administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency was aware of the incident.

[00:00:57]The explosion comes just days after NASA awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to deliver rovers to the moon using its uncrewed lunar lander Mark 1 under the Artemis program.

[00:01:25]Responding to the setback, Jeff Bezos said it was too early to determine the root cause.

[00:01:30]Calling it a very rough day, Bezos added that the company would rebuild whatever was needed and return to flight.

[00:01:36]The incident also highlights the intense rivalry in the private space race.

[00:01:44]Blue Origin and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, are competing to develop lunar landers for NASA as the United States aims to return humans to the moon ahead of a planned crewed mission by China in 2030.

[00:01:55]Reacting to a video of the explosion, Elon Musk posted simply, "Most unfortunate.

[00:02:00]Rockets are hard." For Blue Origin, the failure marks a significant blow, but not the end of its lunar ambitions.

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