Jeff Bezos speaks out about 'rough day' after Blue Origin rocket explodes into massive fireball during testing
Topics: Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, NASA, Florida
Niamh Shackleton
Featured Image Credit: SpaceFlight Now/YouTube
Topics: Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos, NASA, Florida
Blue Origin has suffered a major set back after its latest rocket test ended in disaster.
Last night, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company tested its New Glenn rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
But the rocket never made it off the launch pad and within seconds of the test beginning, the spacecraft exploded and was engulfed in a huge fireball.
The explosion was so big that the orange sky it created was visible in Fort Pierce, 115 miles to the south, says The Guardian.
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While the explosion was undeniably huge, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that air traffic control was not affected.
"This test was not within the scope of FAA licensed activities. There was no impact to air traffic," they FAA confirmed to CNN.
The rocket in question is what Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for NASA amid the space agency's plans to build a lunar base.
Bezos has spoken out following the catastrophic fail yesterday evening (May 28) and described it as a' very rough day'.
He penned on Twitter: "All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it.
"Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it."
The failed test comes just days after it was announced that Blue Origin had won the contract to launch the first of three planned missions this year to begin construction of its $20 billion moon base.
All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) May 29, 2026
NASA has responded last night's explosion but seems unfazed by it all and called the explosion an 'anomaly'.
NASA administration Jared Isaacman tweeted: "NASA is aware of the anomaly that occurred tonight at Launch Complex 36 involving Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
"Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.
"We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available."
It's unclear how the explosion will affect this year's planned missions as the explosion decimated the Florida launch pad.
Reportedly this is the only pad Blue Origin has for its New Glenn rockets. It's likely that the pad will take months to repair.
New Glenn’s fourth mission was intended to carry 48 satellites to join Amazon Leo’s broadband constellation.