Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Static Fire Test at Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket suffered a catastrophic explosion during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, shortly after 9 p.m. local time on Thursday, May 28, 2026. Fire was seen at the base of the rocket followed by a bright yellow plume and a massive mushroom cloud that shook nearby homes. Blue Origin confirmed that all personnel are safe and accounted for, calling the incident an anomaly, and Congressman Mike Haridopolos confirmed no injuries after speaking with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Brevard County Emergency Management stated there is no threat to the public, and the FAA noted the test was outside its licensed scope and did not impact air traffic. The explosion is a major setback for Blue Origin, which was preparing New Glenn for its fourth mission—a launch of internet satellites for Amazon's LEO constellation scheduled for June 4, 2026—and had recently been awarded a $188 million NASA contract to deliver lunar-terrain vehicle landers for the agency's Moon Base project. Jeff Bezos described the event as a "very rough day" and stated the company will investigate the root cause, rebuild, and resume flying. The incident follows last month's failure where a New Glenn rocket failed to launch a satellite into its intended orbit. Elon Musk offered condolences, commenting "Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard."