A statement was released by a NASA official following a significant blast at the Kennedy Space Center. The explosion occurred around 9pm local time on May 28 while Blue Origin was preparing to fuel its New Glenn rocket for a static fire test planned for June 4. This incident occurred after the aerospace company’s successful third launch last month. Video footage online shows a detonation at the rocket’s base, followed by smoke and an explosion at the top, engulfing the entire vessel in flames.
Jared Isaacman posted on X early in the morning confirming NASA’s awareness of the event and emphasizing the challenges of spaceflight and heavy-lift launch development. NASA will collaborate with partners to investigate the incident, assess mission impacts, and resume rocket launches, with updates on the Artemis and Moon Base programs to follow.
Elon Musk of SpaceX commented on Jeff Bezos’ recent space mishap, acknowledging the difficulty of rocket endeavors. Bezos reassured that all personnel are safe and efforts are underway to determine the cause and recover. The extent of damage to the Blue Origin launchpad and potential project delays are currently unknown.
The New Glenn rocket, standing at 321 feet tall, was set to launch next week with internet satellites for the Amazon LEO constellation. Launched in 2025, the New Glenn is larger and more powerful than the New Shepard rockets, named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth.
