Blue Origin is nearing identification of the root cause behind the catastrophic loss of its New Glenn rocket and launch pad infrastructure in May. CEO Dave Limp confirmed the anomaly originated in the main oxygen valve of one of the rocket's seven BE-4 engines during a hot-fire test on May 28, 2026. Hardware recovery and inspections validated this finding.

Limp stated that while the exact root cause is still under investigation, the path forward is clear. Blue Origin is implementing modifications to the affected valve, with updated hardware expected by the end of the month. The company is also conducting extensive component-level and engine hotfire tests to fully understand the failure mode and inform mitigations.

Despite the ongoing fault tree analysis, Blue Origin aims to return the New Glenn rocket to flight before the end of this year. The company has been working with urgency to clear debris and rebuild the launch tower at Launch Complex 36-A in Florida.