Severe damage was caused to Blue Origin’s launch pad after the dramatic explosion of its giant New Glenn rocket during an engine ignition test on Thursday, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said Monday in an interview with CNBC. He said repairing the damage "take some serious time."
The explosion occurred during a static “hot-fire” test, in which the rocket was bolted to the launch tower for engine testing ahead of its fourth orbital launch since January 2025. During the test, the powerful two-stage rocket erupted in a colossal fireball
Blue Origin's launch pad explodes during test launch
(Video: According to Section 27 A)
The incident comes at a sensitive time for Blue Origin and Amazon’s satellite program, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos. The company is seeking to compete more directly with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, currently considered the global leader in commercial satellite launches.
Industry sources said the explosion had left the launch pad "practically destroyed" and in need of repairs that engineers expect will disrupt operations for at least six months.
No injuries were reported in the accident, which occurred at the U.S. Space Force site at Cape Canaveral, Florida. In addition, none of the Amazon Leo satellites the rocket was scheduled to carry into orbit had been integrated into the spacecraft's payload at the time of the incident.
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Fire on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral
(Photo: NASASpaceflight.com/Handout via REUTERS)
The New Glenn rocket, named after astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, is intended to play a central role in NASA missions under the Artemis program, including launches of lunar landers and other cargo.
Development of New Glenn has continued under three different Blue Origin CEOs and has faced numerous delays, while Musk’s SpaceX has become an industry giant with its reusable Falcon 9, currently the world’s most active rocket. New Glenn is twice as powerful as SpaceX’s Falcon 9, and Blue Origin has dozens of future launch contracts worth billions of dollars.