Blue Origin Begins Investigation Into New Glenn Explosion
Blue Origin said propellant tanks and a nearby hangar survived the blast, and CEO Dave Limp said the company will fly again before year-end.
- On Thursday, May 28, 2026, a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a static fire test at Launch Complex-36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, destroying the vehicle and severely damaging ground infrastructure.
- Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp confirmed the company has regained access to the pad and is investigating the anomaly, while NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman toured the site Friday to offer agency support.
- The explosion's shockwave reached seismographs up to 135 miles away, equivalent to a 2.5 magnitude earthquake, and satellite imagery from Planet Labs PBC confirmed extensive damage visible from space.
- Delays now affect Amazon Leo's constellation deployment of 3,232 satellites and create uncertainty for NASA's Artemis lunar mission timeline, stalling critical programs that depend on New Glenn access.
- Industry experts note rebuilding could take 15 months, similar to a 2016 SpaceX incident, though the Space Force does not anticipate impacts to its national security launch schedule.
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‘Good news’ for space travel after huge rocket explosion
Blue Origin will try to relaunch New Glenn, its huge rocket that exploded spectacularly last week, within the year. Source link : https://news.sky.com/story/good-news-for-space-travel-as-blue-origin-deals-with-aftermath-of-huge-rocket-explosion-13550364 Author : Publish date : 2026-06-03 08:59:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
Blue Origin vows to resume New Glenn flights by year’s end
An aerial view of launch complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station showing the aftermath of the New Glenn explosion last Thursday. The rocket itself virtually disintegrated in the blast leaving its transporter-erector in wreckage on the concrete pad’s surface. The large gantry suffered structural damage near its base while the mangled remains of a lightning tower are visible to the right of the pad surface. A large processing hangar (…
Blue Origin CEO pledges to repair ruined launch pad and return to flight by the end of the year
The SkySat satellite image at left shows Blue Origin’s launch pad in Florida on May 20, before the New Glenn rocket explosion. The satellite image at right shows the pad on May 31, three days after the blast. Click on the image for a larger version. (Credit: Planet Labs PBC) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture aims to repair the damage done last week by a launch-pad rocket explosion and return to flight before the end of the year, the company’…
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