As Blue Origin prepares for the next launch of its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, the company experienced unexpected damage at its Merritt Island rocket manufacturing facility.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring a routine test at our 2CAT facility in Florida, we experienced an anomaly during test execution,\u201d according to a Blue Origin spokesperson. \u201cThere were no injuries, and safety protocols were in place at the time of the test. There is no impact to ongoing production operations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photos posted to social media show a damaged roof to the 2CAT facility, a vertical building used for tank cleaning and testing on the rocket\u2019s second stages. It\u2019s a smaller building more toward the rear of the campus than the towering, 224-foot-tall building used to test the first stages, that can be seen for miles around the site.<\/p>\n
An apparent anomaly has occurred at Blue Origins 2CAT testing facility, damaging the roof in the process pic.twitter.com\/XTyWwn6RjY<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jerry Pike (@JerryPikePhoto) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAn apparent anomaly has occurred at Blue Origins 2CAT testing facility, damaging the roof in the process,\u201d reads a post on X from Brevard-based photographer Jerry Pike.<\/p>\n It\u2019s one the many buildings at the site within Exploration Park adjacent to Kennedy Space Center Visitor\u2019s Complex where Blue Origin manufactures its New Glenn rocket. Jeff Bezos has invested more than $3 billion into the company\u2019s Space Coast facilities, which also manufacture the company\u2019s Blue Moon lunar landers.<\/p>\n The facility, though, is one where the company performs pressure testing on the rocket stage.<\/p>\n Any damage that may have been done to the facility or hardware inside it would not directly affect Blue Origin\u2019s rocket already at the company\u2019s launch facilities on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station\u2019s Launch Complex 36.<\/p>\n But rocket companies that suffer damage on test stands sometimes stand down from launches until they understand the reason behind the incidents.<\/p>\n United Launch Alliance, for instance, had been gearing up for the debut flight of its Vulcan rocket in 2023 in Florida when a fireball engulfed an upper stage on a test stand<\/a> at\u00a0Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Results of that test led to changes on the upper stage that did eventually fly, but it was among reasons that rocket\u2019s debut was delayed another eight months<\/a>.<\/p>\n Blue Origin had announced in late March it would aim to launch the NG-3 mission using a previously flown first-stage booster as soon as April 10, but has yet to update its target launch date.<\/p>\n The flight would be the third ever for the heavy-lift rocket after its debut in January 2025 and second mission last November. That flight saw the successful landing and recovery of its first-stage booster, something not achieved on the rocket\u2019s debut. The stage named \u201cNever Tell Me the Odds,\u201d a reference to a Han Solo quote from \u201cThe Empire Strikes Back,\u201d was refurbished as is set to fly again on this new mission.<\/p>\n “Never Tell Me The Odds” is back. Team Blue inspected every system, completed refurbishment, and certified it for flight. Proud to put a flight-proven booster to work for @AST_SpaceMobile<\/a> on NG-3. Enjoy this fun video of us moving the integrated vehicle to the\u00a0Transporter Erector\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/eh9awXdjab<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Dave Limp (@davill) April 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n The payload is telecommunication company AST SpaceMobile\u2019s next-generation BlueBird 7 satellite headed to to low-Earth orbit.<\/p>\n Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted a video of the booster on April 7 at the rocket prep facilities at Launch Complex 36 getting moved to the Transporter Erector, which will roll the rocket to the launch pad.<\/p>\n \u201cTeam Blue inspected every system, completed refurbishment, and certified it for flight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Endurance has successfully completed thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing! We’re now preparing for our lunar lander’s return to Florida. pic.twitter.com\/MGABuZPXYP<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 9, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Blue Origin is also trying to launch this year its first lunar landing mission, an uncrewed Blue Moon MK 1 lander that just completed successful testing in Houston\u2019s Johnson Space Center\u2019s thermal vacuum chamber.<\/p>\n The lander, which has been named \u201cEndurance,\u201d had been shipped from Florida in January<\/a>, and will now head back to the Space Coast to prepare for launch, according to an update this week from the company.<\/p>\n \u201cGreat work by the team, one step closer to the moon!\u201d Limp posted.<\/p>\n