On May 29, 2026, a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket exploded during an uncrewed test launch from the company's facility in West Texas. The incident occurred approximately one minute after liftoff, according to initial reports from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The rocket, which was carrying a capsule of scientific experiments, experienced an anomaly that led to the explosion. The capsule was equipped with an emergency escape system and was reported to have separated safely before the explosion, landing via parachute as designed.
No injuries were reported, as the launch was uncrewed. The FAA has announced it will investigate the incident to determine the cause. Blue Origin has not yet released an official statement regarding the failure.
This marks the first major failure for Blue Origin's New Shepard program, which has conducted numerous successful uncrewed and crewed suborbital flights since its first test in 2015. The company had been preparing for future crewed missions.
