When you make a purchase through links in our articles, Future and its distribution partners may earn a commission.
Source: SpaceFromSpace / © 2026 Planet Labs PBC
After the explosion of the giant New Glenn rocket last week, which rocked Florida's Space Coast and the space industry itself, passions have died down.
On May 28, Blue Origin was conducting a fueling test for the fourth mission of the New Glenn rocket when a previously unknown event caused the complete destruction of the vehicle and significant damage to ground infrastructure at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36). While no one was injured in the incident, the loss severely undermined Blue Origin's ability to meet NASA's deadlines for supporting the Artemis missions to return astronauts to the Moon and further delayed the development of Amazon's Leo wireless internet network, designed to compete with SpaceX's Starlink satellite network.
The explosion caused significant damage to Launch Pad 36, Blue Origin's only launch site capable of accommodating rockets the size of New Glenn. The damage is so extensive that it can be measured from space, as shown in images acquired by Planet Lab's SkySat-C9 satellite and processed by Spacefromspace.
Satellite images show charred vegetation extending in nearly every direction around the half-mile (1 kilometer) wide New Glenn launch pad. Blue Origin leases launch pad LC-36 on the Cape Canaveral Space Station (CCSFS). Visible damage on the charred, now destroyed pad can be seen on the launch tower, fire chute, and other support systems.
Blue Origin is currently developing a damage repair plan. "We will begin site cleanup shortly and develop a robust reconstruction plan," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated in a May 31 email to X. According to Isaacman, on May 30, Limp and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, along with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, visited the LC-36 launch pad and pledged the agency's full support in the upcoming investigation.
The New Glenn rocket is one of the vehicles NASA is counting on to land astronauts on the Moon as part of the upcoming Artemis missions. Blue Origin's Blue Moon lander is one of two spacecraft NASA has commissioned to carry out these landings (the other being SpaceX's Starship), and until Blue Origin completes repairs to Launch Pad 36, Blue Moon will not be able to launch.
Satellite image of launch pad LC-36 taken May 31, 2026. SpaceFromSpace / © 2026 Planet Labs PBC Satellite image of launch pad LC-36 taken May 31, 2026. SpaceFromSpace / © 2026 Planet Labs PBC
Blue Origin planned to launch its first Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) spacecraft, a smaller cargo version of the upcoming MK2 model designed to support crew, to the lunar surface this fall. NASA's Moon Base 1 program was intended to deliver a suite of payloads to establish a future permanent base. However, the refurbishment of Launch Pad 36 will likely delay this launch by several months. This will impact Blue Origin's readiness to deliver the Blue Moon spacecraft for the upcoming Artemis 3 mission, which aims to launch lunar landers into low-Earth orbit to practice rendezvous and docking maneuvers with the Orion spacecraft. This, in turn, could either delay Artemis 3 or create an unfeasible timeline for Blue Moon to obtain certification to carry astronauts to the first lunar landing on the Artemis 4 mission.
When an Antares rocket exploded and damaged its launch pad in 2014, it took nearly two years before the damaged facilities at NASA's Wallops Space Center were ready for another launch. SpaceX also experienced a similar static test and fire failure at New Glenn in September 2016, when a Falcon 9 rocket exploded on Launch Complex 40 (LCCSFS-40) prior to the launch of the Amos-6 communications satellite. SpaceX spent just over a year recovering its facilities, launching a mission from LC-40 in December 2017.
Blue Origin hasn't yet given an estimated timeline for repairs to LC-16 or released an overall damage assessment. After meeting with Isaacman, Bezos expressed the company's determination to move forward and expressed gratitude to the administrator for NASA's support. "Thank you for being here today," Bezos wrote in a message on X. "We'll be back flying and we'll get to the moon. Gradatim Ferociter.".