Sound synchronized from @NASASpaceflight footage pic.twitter.com/EWr9t8iegP
— Scott Manley (@DJSnM) May 29, 2026
This, on a static fire, is a major setback for commercial space in general, and Blue Origin in particular. More anon.
[Update a couple minutes later]
Eric Berger has the latest.
It strikes me a that this may have been a demonstration of the recently discovered explosive potential of LOX/methane, which Dugway tests showed was equivalent to TNT.
Silver lining: The Space Force just got good data on methane exclusion zones.
— Eric Berger (@SciGuySpace) May 29, 2026
[Friday-morning update]
Stephen Green has the latest at PJMedia.
We’ll see how fast they can recover, but it certainly puts more pressure on SpaceX to get through their mishap investigation and get back to testing.
[Update a while later]
WOW! Remarkable video from 5 miles from the launch pad in Jetty Park. Watch that fireball, and listen around 35 seconds into the video for the massive audible explosion.
— Noah Bergren (@NbergWX) May 29, 2026
📸: John Concilus pic.twitter.com/5Ow9Q6Dd3L
Blue Origin just vaporized a rocket, a launch pad, and Amazon's entire satellite deployment timeline in nine seconds.
— Aakash Gupta (@aakashgupta) May 29, 2026
NG-4 was supposed to fly June 4 carrying 48 Amazon Leo satellites. That mission was the first of 24 contracted Blue Origin launches Amazon needs to build its… https://t.co/Pz2Su6925C
I clipped this from the old 1985 PBS documentary Space Flight. About four minutes. Worth the watch, not just for the footage of the rocket failures, but especially for German engineer Krafft Ehricke's explanation on why the first ballistic missile of the modern age was such a… pic.twitter.com/NlbVileszT
— Brad R. Torgersen (@BradRTorgersen) May 29, 2026
I knew Krafft when I was at Rockwell, because we had him on retainer as a consultant.
[Early-afternoon update]
Eric Berger: Why last night’s event was so catastrophic.
It’s sure a headache for Jared. At this point, Gwynne Shotwell is more important to American space activities than either the NASA administrator or General Saltzman.