A rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has exploded during a test at the launch pad, shaking nearby homes and briefly painting the sky orange.
Blue Origin said its New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test being conducted in Florida ahead of a satellite launch planned for next week.
No one was hurt in the incident on Thursday night, according to officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Mr Bezos said via X: “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it.
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“Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
The massive New Glenn was grounded in April after it left a satellite in the wrong orbit because of engine failure.
It was the third flight of the rocket that Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for Nasa, including the landers that will take astronauts to the lunar surface.
The company had been on track to launch a prototype lunar lander to the moon on a flight test in the autumn.
Earlier this week, the space agency awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch a pair of moon buggies in the next few years as part of the Artemis programme.
Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman said via X: “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult.”
He promised to provide information on any effect on the Artemis programme, including the moon base that he recently outlined.
Homes shook in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach at about 9pm local time, with residents turning to social media to wonder what happened.
Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach, and the internet quickly filled with photographs of an orange fireball.
The rocket was supposed to blast off next week with internet satellites that are part of the Amazon Leo constellation in orbit.
Emergency crews remained more than an hour after the explosion. Officials stressed there was no threat due to fumes or other potential hazards.
Space Force officials said the explosion would not affect launches by other companies from other pads.
United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket is due to blast off on Friday night with a batch of Amazon Leo satellites, the same kind that this rocket was supposed to take up.
SpaceX’s Elon Musk, who has had his own share of rocket explosions, offered his condolences. “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly,” he told Blue Origin via X.
The 98m New Glenn rocket made its debut in 2025. It is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, and is much bigger and more powerful than the New Shepard rockets that have carried tourists to the fringes of space from Texas. – AP
