The first stage of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, named “Never Tell Me The Odds,” will return to Port Canaveral, USA, on April 19, 2023. The launch vehicle is on board the drone ship Jacklyn, where it landed after a successful launch. This is the first time Blue Origin has reused the same first stage. (Photo by Manuel Mazzanti/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded Thursday evening during a hot-fire test at a Space Force launch facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Led by the Amazon founder Jeff BezosBlue Origin is working on reusable rockets and launch services that can compete with those of Elon Muskis SpaceX. A hot-fire test is conducted on the ground with the rocket engines ignited while the vehicle is attached to the launch pad.
said Bezos in a post on the social network X that all staff were safe after the explosion.
“All personnel are accounted for and safe. It is too early to know the cause, but we are already working to find it. A very hard day, but we will rebuild everything that needs to be rebuilt and fly again. It’s worth it.”
The Brevard County Emergency Management Office described the incident in a public announcement as an “anomaly” that poses “no danger to the general public”.
Musk also reacted to the explosion on XHe writes: “Extremely unfortunate. Rockets are hard.”
The Federal Aviation Administration, which regulates commercial space activities, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the explosion.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the incident occurred a day later praised Blue Origin for his crucial role in the space agency’s Artemis program, an attempt to return American astronauts to the lunar surface in 2028.
During a speech on Wednesday, he also announced that NASA had awarded Blue Origin an award $188 million contract to help build a moon base.
After the New Glenn exploded on the launch pad on Thursday, Isaacman wrote on X that the agency is “aware” of the incident and “will provide information on any impact on the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available.”
“Space travel is unforgiving and developing new heavy-lift launch capabilities is extraordinarily difficult,” he said.
“We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess the short-term impacts of the mission, and resume firing missiles.”
