A rocket being tested at Cape Canaveral, planned for use in a massive satellite launch project under development, has exploded.
The rocket, from Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin project, left its wreckage being tracked by radar.
Officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station said there were no injuries, but damage to the infrastructure was apparent.
New Glenn Booster “No, It’s Necessary” has just exploded during its static fire test.
(Audio Synced from NSF’s SpaceCoast Live” pic.twitter.com/IXIfMnkHhx
— Blobifi (@Blobifie) May 29, 2026
Insane footage filmed from a nearby restaurant shows tonight’s explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn at Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 (LC-36). pic.twitter.com/2jahDKHKhq
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) May 29, 2026
A report posted by Not the Bee said that blast was so violent that it left debris being tracked on Doppler radar.
During a scheduled static fire test, New Glenn has sadly exploded on the pad, I am currently tracking it’s debris on radar. pic.twitter.com/eTPbItL3px
— Chandler G (@Echo5550) May 29, 2026
The AP said the company “had been on track to launch a prototype lunar lander to the moon on a fifth test this fall.”
Not the Bee noted, “The issue is that Blue Origin had already been selected as an integral part of NASA’s moon base plan. Now their only launch pad was shredded by the largest rocket explosion since a Soviet explosion half a century ago. It takes time to rebuild such things.”
Initial reports said the launch infrastructure at the site will need repairs. “A source indicated that one of the lightning towers may not be salvageable, and that the transporter-erector may also be damaged beyond repair,” one report said.
ARS Technica had reported, “On Tuesday NASA announced that it had selected the New Glenn rocket to deliver the first two rovers, built by Lunar Outpost and Astrolab, to the lunar surface in 2028. Blue Origin has developed its own cargo lunar lander, Blue Moon Mark 1, designed to fly on top of New Glenn. It was due to launch this fall to the Moon for the first time, and again next year carrying the VIPER rover to the Moon for NASA.”
