Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday night during a high-temperature fire test at the Space Force’s launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Blue Origin, led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is working on reusable rockets and launch services comparable to those offered by Elon Musk’s SpaceX. High-temperature combustion tests are conducted on the ground by igniting the rocket engine while the vehicle is fixed on the launch pad.
Bezos said in a post on social network X that all staff members were safe after the explosion.
“All personnel have been accounted for and are safe. It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it. It’s a very tough day, but we’ll rebuild everything that needs to be rebuilt and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
The Brevard County Office of Emergency Management described the incident in a public notice as an “unusual situation” that poses “no threat to the general public.”
Musk also wrote about the X explosion: “Very disappointing. Rockets are difficult.”
The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial space activities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the explosion.
The incident comes a day after NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman praised Blue Origin for its key role in the space agency’s Artemis mission, which will return American astronauts to the moon in 2028.
In his Wednesday speech, he also revealed that NASA awarded a $188 million contract to Blue Origin to help build a lunar base.
After New Glenn exploded on its launch pad on Thursday, Isaacman wrote to X that the agency was “aware” of the incident and would “provide information regarding the impact on Artemis and the moon base program as soon as it becomes available.”
“Spaceflight is relentless, and developing new heavy-lift launch capabilities is extremely difficult,” he said.
“We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess the short-term mission impact, and return to launching the rocket.”
