New Glenn exploded and also destroyed its (only) launch pad

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded at Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 36 launch pad in Florida on May 28, 2026, at approximately 9 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time. 

The rocket was being prepared for its fourth flight (NG-4), and its rocket engines were being test-fired when an explosion occurred near the engines.

Because New Glenn is a large rocket, the explosion was also large, as all the propellant in the rocket’s first and second stages exploded. In addition to the entire rocket and its payload being destroyed, the explosion also severely damaged Blue Origin’s only operational New Glenn rocket launch pad.

No one was injured in the explosion, but it means a long delay for the company’s launches and a new setback for the U.S. Artemis program: one of the lunar landers is built by Blue Origin, and both it and the lander’s test vehicle are intended to be sent into space on a New Glenn rocket.

Addition in August 2026: Blue Origin stated that the cause was a fault in the liquid oxygen valve of one BE-4 engine.