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A Blue Origin rocket exploded during a test at the launch site Thursday night, shaking nearby homes and briefly painting the sky orange.
Blue Origin said its New Glenn rocket exploded during a test engine firing ahead of a satellite launch scheduled for next week. No one was injured, according to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station officials.
“All employees are accounted for and safe. It is too early to know the origin but we are already working to find it,” Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, told X. “It’s a very tough day, but we’re going to rebuild whatever needs to be rebuilt and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
The massive New Glenn was grounded in April after it left the satellite in the wrong orbit due to engine failure. It was only the third rocket Blue Origin plans to use to launch NASA’s lunar landings, including landers that will carry astronauts to the lunar surface.
‘Spaceflight is unforgiving’
The company was on track to launch a prototype lunar lander for a test flight this fall. Earlier this week, the space agency awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch lunar probes over the next few years as part of the Artemis program.
“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capabilities is extraordinarily difficult,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said of X. He promised to provide information on any implications for the Artemis system, including the moon base he just described.
Homes shook near Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach around 9 p.m., residents turned to social media to ask what happened. Launch Complex 36 is visible on the beach, and the internet is quickly flooded with images of the orange fireball.
The rocket was supposed to blast off next week with Internet satellites that are part of the Amazon Leo constellation in orbit.
ULA launches are not expected to be affected
Emergency workers remained for more than an hour after the explosion. Officials stressed that there is no threat from smoke or other potential hazards.
Space Force officials said the explosion will not interfere with future launches of other companies from other pads. The United Launch Alliance (ULA) and its Atlas V rocket are expected to blast off Friday night with a batch of Amazon Leo satellites, the same type the rocket was supposed to carry.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk, who has had his share of rocket explosions, offered his condolences. “Sorry to see this, I hope you get well soon,” he told Blue Origin via X.
Towering at 321 feet (98 meters), New Glenn makes its debut in 2025. It is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, and is much larger and more powerful than the New Shepard rockets that have carried tourists to the edge of space from Texas.
