A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday night, sending a massive fireball into the sky.
No personnel were harmed in the incident, the company said on social media, describing the explosion as an 'anomaly'. Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, who founded Blue Origin, said it was a 'very rough day'. Elon Musk, founder of rival SpaceX, offered his condolences to Bezos.
“A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test in Florida, causing a massive fireball. No injuries were reported. The blast threatens NASA's lunar plans and Amazon's satellite internet project.”
The explosion occurred seconds after the start of a scheduled 'hotfire' test at 9pm ET. A huge fireball engulfed and destroyed the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, with orange sky visible in Fort Pierce, 185km (115 miles) to the south.
The failure comes days before the planned launch of internet satellites for Amazon, part of the company's Project Kuiper constellation. It also throws into jeopardy NASA's plans to build a lunar base and return humans to the moon in the next two years, as Blue Origin is a key contractor for the agency's lunar lander programme.
While the incident took place in the United States, it has implications for the UK's space sector. Britain is a signatory to the Artemis Accords, the international framework for lunar exploration, and UK scientists and engineers are involved in NASA's lunar missions through the European Space Agency. Delays to the New Glenn rocket could affect timelines for UK-built instruments and experiments planned for the Moon.
Jeff Bezos said the failure was a major setback for Blue Origin, which has yet to reach orbit with its New Glenn rocket. 'It was a very rough day,' he said. The company described the explosion as an 'anomaly' and said it would investigate. Elon Musk, who has often clashed with Bezos over space ambitions, tweeted his condolences.
An investigation into the cause of the explosion is now under way. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it would oversee the probe. Blue Origin had been preparing for the first launch of New Glenn later this year, carrying Amazon's internet satellites. The loss of the test vehicle is likely to delay those plans significantly. NASA, which has contracted Blue Origin to develop a lunar lander for its Artemis programme, said it was assessing the impact on its schedule.
What This Means For You The explosion could delay the rollout of Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite internet service, which aims to provide broadband to remote and rural areas worldwide, including parts of the UK. Any delays to NASA's lunar programme may also affect UK-based research projects that rely on Artemis missions. For British space enthusiasts, the setback highlights the risks inherent in spaceflight, but also underscores the UK's reliance on American launch vehicles for its own space ambitions.