Blue Origin rocket goes up in flames at NASA Space Centre after explosion | World | News

A rocket exploded at NASA space center in the USA.

According to reports, Blue Origin’s New Glenn exploded during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Blue Origin released a statement after the explosion today.

A spokesperson said via a post on social media: “We experienced an anomaly during today’s hot fire test. All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

The explosion occurred shortly after 21:00 local time on Thursday, May 28.

In images circulating online, an explosion can be seen radiating from the base of the rocket before an explosion towards the spire of the spacecraft, with smoke carrying the rocket shaft. The entire ship is then engulfed by a massive, bright yellow cloud of flame.

NASA has yet to share a statement online or on social media platform X, the common protocol for emergency events.

Howeber released the following statement via House Science, Space and Technology Committee subcommittee chairman Mike Haridopolos, X: “I’ve talked to him before. @NASAAdmin Jared Isaacman on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploding at the Kennedy Space Center tonight. I am grateful that no injuries were reported, and I am grateful to the first responders, engineers, and launch teams who acted quickly. “I pray for Florida’s Space Coast and everyone involved.”

Founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin is known for its 11-minute space flight that took a group of celebrities to the inky black final frontier in 2025; Pop star Katy Perry was widely mocked after traveling to the edge of space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket on April 14 last year, then kissing the earth upon landing.

The historic flight was part of an all-female crew and reached 60 miles above the Earth, giving passengers several minutes of weightlessness.

In perhaps less frivolous space news, the explosion at the Florida NASA base came just days after the US Space Agency announced incredible new plans to establish a permanent base on the Moon.

The US space agency has unveiled the first phase of its ambitious plans to build a vast lunar station that could expand to hundreds of square miles.

It’s thought the base could support astronauts for long periods of time as a new race to the moon heats up over the next decade. On Monday, China launched a rocket carrying three astronauts into space as Beijing tries to send humans to the Moon by 2030. NASA has begun ordering landers, rovers and drones for its lunar base plans, signing contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars to four US companies.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin will deliver a pair of landers near the moon’s south pole to deliver lunar buggies to the lunar surface.

While the ‘lunar landers’ are being built by Astrolab and Lunar Outpost, Firefly Aerospace, which successfully landed on the moon last year, will deliver the first drones to the moon. It is hoped that the equipment will arrive before the first Artemis astronauts land on Hope as early as 2028.