Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes on Launchpad Sending Space Stocks Sharply Lower
Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded on its Cape Canaveral launchpad Thursday night, triggering a broad sell-off across space stocks.
Shares of AST SpaceMobile, Rocket Lab, Intuitive Machines, Redwire, and Planet Labs all moved lower following the incident.
The declines landed after a stunning run, with both AST and Rocket Lab each gaining more than 80% during May alone.
Blue Origin issued a statement calling the incident an "anomaly" during a hotfire test, confirming all personnel were safe.
Jeff Bezos posted on social media that the company would rebuild. "Very rough day," he added.
Delays Cascade Across Amazon and NASA
The destroyed launchpad is the only site from which New Glenn can be launched, per The Wall Street Journal. Recovery depends on rebuilding that infrastructure entirely.
The explosion hits hardest for two major customers, Amazon.com and AST SpaceMobile, both depending on New Glenn to carry communications satellites into orbit.
Amazon stock fell 1% in premarket trading.
Amazon needs thousands of satellites in orbit this year as part of its Kuiper internet network. It had targeted more than 3.0K in orbit by 2029, per Barron's.
That schedule is now off track, likely forcing the company to seek a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) timeline extension.
For AST, the setback delays monetizing its billion-dollar sales backlog from wireless carriers including Verizon Communications and AT&T.
NASA's Artemis lunar program also faces disruption. The agency had planned to test a lander vehicle Blue Origin is developing for a 2027 mission using New Glenn.
"Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, uses the same engines in its Vulcan rocket. It may face additional delays while investigators examine the explosion.
SpaceX Stands to Benefit, Though Its IPO Valuation Slipped
SpaceX handles more than half of all orbital launches worldwide, and the Blue Origin setback reduces near-term competition for its Starlink broadband service.
Bloomberg reported Friday, citing sources, that SpaceX revised its IPO target valuation down to $1.8T from $2T.
The company filed to go public the prior week, which had helped fuel the broader May rally across space stocks.
A single rocket accident typically means a delay of months rather than a program cancellation.
The explosion may nonetheless serve as the catalyst investors needed to take profits in a sector that had run far and fast.
