Incredible videos show Blue Origin rocket explosion could be seen from hundreds of miles away

An explosion on Florida’s Space Coast last night lit up the sky more than 100 miles away.

During a test of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket in the evening hours on May 28, ahead of an upcoming mission to deliver a batch of Amazon Leo internet satellites to low Earth orbit, the launch vehicle experienced an anomaly that led to its complete loss and what is likely significant damage to the Launch Complex-36 (LC-36), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos confirmed in a post on X that no one was hurt in the accident, and said, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.” Dozens of other posts to social media quickly spread views of the explosion seen from nearby Cocoa Beach all the way to Tampa, on Florida’s west coast.

A flyover image taken this morning (May 29) of LC-36 gives an idea to the extent of damage sustained by the launchpad infrastructure.

One X user, @leesteapleton, posted a video sent to him by a patron of Cocoa Beach restaurant Coconuts on the Beach, located about 11.5 miles (18.5 kilometers) from the launchpad.

Farther north near Jetty Park, a popular launch viewing location in Port Canaveral about 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometers) from LC-36, X user @JConcilus called the explosion “absolutely enormous.“

The incident was also captured in nearby waters off the shore. Instagram user @gofly2 saw the explosion while aboard a yacht on the way back into Port Canaveral.

This Ring doorbell footage from @huntermanely, on X, caught the explosion lighting up the night sky as a delivery driver dropped off some food.

X user @ItsAlexQuinn, who happened to be in the sky at the time of the incident, posted a video from his airplane window seat while flying above Orlando, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the launchpad.

The glow from the New Glenn explosion was so bright, in fact, that it could be seen all the way on the opposite end of the state. X user @radiolassi shared a video from Tampa, FL, showing the sky illuminating in a bright flash from more than 100 miles away.

“120 miles away. That’s the distance between Tampa and the New Glenn explosion in this video. Yet the blast was still visible across Florida’s night sky. Moments like this remind you just how powerful modern rockets are,” they said in their post.

Both Blue Origin and Space Force officials are instructing the public to report any debris that may wash up on nearby shores. “Debris from our recent hotfire anomaly may wash ashore in the coming days/weeks. If you encounter any debris, do not touch or approach it for your safety,” Blue Origin said in a post on X.

People are urged to call Blue Origin’s Wreckage Management Hotline if they should happen upon such debris, but also to call 911 if items pose “an immediate public safety hazard,” Space Force’s Space Launch Delta 45, who oversee Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, said in their post, directing the public “not touch or attempt to recover suspected debris.”