Share and Follow
In Brief
- Jeff Bezos has committed to rebuilding the rocket, but says the cause of failure is not yet known.
- Elon Musk, CEO of Blue Origin competitor SpaceX, responded to the failed launch in a post on X, writing: “Rockets are hard.”
Jeff Bezos expressed that Blue Origin encountered a “very rough day” following the explosion of its New Glenn rocket on the launch pad.
The New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin suffered a dramatic explosion during a test on Friday, marking a challenging moment for Bezos’ space company as it strives to compete closely with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Footage shared by NASASpaceflight, a YouTube channel that broadcasts live launches from Florida, captured the New Glenn igniting before it burst into a colossal fireball. The explosion sent a vast plume of flames and smoke towering into the sky.
Blue Origin described the incident as an “anomaly,” a term typically used by rocket companies to denote a failure or explosion during launch.
“During today’s hotfire test, an anomaly occurred. All personnel are safe and accounted for. We will share more information as it becomes available,” the company reported on X.
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
A hotfire test is where a rocket engine is fired up while anchored to the ground.
In a separate X post, Bezos said it was “too early to know the root cause” of the incident.
“Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” he said.
Earlier this week, Blue Origin said it was preparing the New Glenn rocket to launch 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit, as part of efforts to build a broadband constellation to rival Musk’s Starlink network. It did not provide a launch date.
Blue Origin has spent billions of dollars and about a decade developing New Glenn, a 29-storey-high rocket with a reusable first stage meant to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon fleet and its more powerful Starship.
Musk responded on X to a video of the New Glenn explosion, saying: “Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard.”
The US Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
For the latest from SBS News, download our app and subscribe to our newsletter.