The New Glenn rocket from Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, exploded during an engine test at the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida. This was reported by the Associated Press, according to UNN.
Details
The incident occurred on the evening of May 29 during preparations for the launch of Amazon's internet network satellites, scheduled for next week. The explosion caused a loud roar felt by residents of neighboring areas, and the sky over the spaceport turned orange for a time. According to the company and the U.S. Space Force, no one was injured.
Too early to know the root cause, but we are already working to find it. A very tough day, but we will rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flight. It’s worth it
New Glenn is Blue Origin's most powerful rocket, standing 98 meters tall. The company plans to use it to launch NASA lunar missions as part of the Artemis program. NASA recently awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch lunar transport vehicles. NASA head Jared Isaacman stated after the accident: "Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capabilities is extremely difficult."
This is yet another serious setback for the New Glenn program. In April, the rocket failed to deliver a satellite to its planned orbit due to an engine failure. Despite the current explosion, the U.S. military stated that the incident would not affect the launch schedules of other companies from the spaceport.
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