NASA's chief doubts that the New Glenn launch will begin before 2028, and Blue Origin excludes it from the lunar race.

Summary of the event

May 29 2026, during a static fire test of the New Glenn rocket by Blue Origin, an explosion occurred at the launch pad of the Cape Canaveral complex in Florida. As a result, most of the infrastructure on the site – the only one from which the rocket had already been launched – was destroyed.

1. What happened
- Explosion: powerful and destructive, destroyed a significant portion of the launch pad.
- Site: Cape Canaveral complex, Florida – Blue Origin’s sole New Glenn launch site.

2. Management response
On the weekend, the damaged pad was visited by:
- Dave Limp – CEO of Blue Origin;
- Jeff Bezos – CEO of Amazon;
- Jared Isaacman – NASA’s chief administrator.
The first inspection revealed severe damage and allowed a preliminary recovery plan to be drafted.
Isaacman told CNBC that the realistic timeline for resuming launches from this site is 2028.

3. Consequences for the Artemis program
- Isaacman noted that Blue Origin is “in decline” and may become NASA’s only hope only through SpaceX.
- The planned Artemis III mission (by the end of 2027) involves docking Orion with a lunar lander. Because the pad was destroyed, Blue Origin cannot deliver its module for this mission and therefore will not participate in Artemis IV (the planned crewed Moon landing at the end of 2028).
- Under contract with NASA, the company was to supply three rovers: two this year and one next year. These deliveries are now canceled, forcing NASA to seek new contractors or revise its plans.

4. Impact on other projects
- ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket uses Blue Origin engines; the New Glenn explosion near the engines raises doubts about their reliability.
- For Blue Origin and its clients working on satellite‑internet systems (Amazon Leo, AST SpaceMobile), the situation complicates deliveries and launch schedules.

5. Financial effect
AST SpaceMobile shares have already begun to fall:
- Friday: a 17 % drop
- Monday: an additional 6 %
Result: The New Glenn explosion dealt a serious blow to Blue Origin’s infrastructure, delaying planned flights until 2028. This affected not only the Artemis program and rover deliveries but also ULA engine projects and the financial performance of satellite‑internet partner companies.