What to do if you find Blue Origin rocket debris

Seth Kurkowski | May 29 2026 - 7:06 am PT

On June 29, a Blue Origin New Glenn exploded during a pre-launch test on SLC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Debris is now expected to wash up on public beaches in the coming days; here is what officials are telling you to do if you find it.

Don’t touch it!

Officials state that the debris is hazardous and could be harmful to humans if you come in contact with it. Do not touch, move, or pick up any debris you suspect is from a rocket.

Debris could be off-gassing hazardous gases; it could also have sharp, jagged edges from the explosion. While it may be tempting to keep a piece of it as a souvenir, if you potentially grab the wrong piece of debris, it could result in health issues in the future.

Call 911 or Blue Origin hotline

If you do find a piece of suspected rocket debris, Space Delta 45 requests the public to call 911 and report it for pickup. This is to remove the potentially hazardous debris from the public and to also return it for analysis to Blue Origin.

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Blue Origin has also set up a hotline for you to call to report debris. You can call 1-321-222-4355 or email MissionRecovery@blueorigin.com with your findings.

If you’re a space fan, you’ll want Blue Origin back on its feet as quickly as possible. Having as much debris returned to them as possible will aid in their investigation. While data is the main source of determining what went wrong, analyzing debris can help confirm that what they see in the data is actually what happened to the rocket.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn explosion was one of the largest explosions in rocket history since the Soviet N1 Moon rocket failed shortly after liftoff. New Glenn‘s fireball was seen as far away as Orlando and will likely have caused significant damage to Blue Origin’s launch pad, putting it out of commission for some time.

While large, the explosion has not shut down the Space Force’s Eastern Range. Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Kennedy Space Center remain operational and ready to support all upcoming launches.