CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Channel 9 was first on the air when a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral back in May. Now, the company says it has identified the cause of the blast.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted on X Wednesday that the May 28 explosion started with a problem involving one of the rocket’s BE-4 engines.
“The anomaly originated at the main oxygen valve on one of the BE-4 engines, which was later confirmed by hardware recovery and inspections,” Limp wrote.
The explosion happened around 9 p.m. during a static fire test at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. No one was injured.
Limp said teams are making small modifications to the valve that can be quickly added to existing engines, and that the company is continuing to study the failure.
Blue Origin says it still hopes to return New Glenn to flight by the end of the year.
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