Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos described a 'very rough day' after his $100 million (£74 million) rocket exploded during a routine test. The New Glenn rocket erupted into a giant fireball while undergoing a 'hotfire test' on Launch Pad 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Explosion Details
Bezos stated it is 'too early to know the root cause' of the anomaly, which sent flames and debris exploding high into the sky. The rocket, measuring 320 feet (98 metres) tall, was designed to launch 48 Amazon satellites into low-Earth orbit. The test appeared to start normally with the launch pad lighting up and smoke emerging from the engines, but it soon turned to disaster when the bottom of the spacecraft exploded into a ball of fire that consumed the entire rocket and later the launch pad.
Fortunately, there were no reported injuries, and Brevard County Emergency Management officials confirmed no threat to the public. 'All personnel are accounted for and safe,' Bezos wrote on X. 'It's too early to know the root cause but we're already working to find it. Very rough day, but we'll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It's worth it.'
Impact on NASA's Artemis Program
There are concerns that the catastrophic failure could have repercussions for NASA's Artemis moon mission. Blue Origin was recently awarded the contract for NASA's moon lander, with expectations that it would launch on one of its rockets later this year. This is a crucial step in building a permanent 'city on the moon', as the lander is intended to carry cargo and scientific equipment to the lunar surface.
'We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available,' said Jared Isaacman, the NASA administrator. Under plans for the Artemis III mission, scheduled to launch next year, NASA astronauts would practice docking their Orion capsule with landers from both Blue Origin and SpaceX while remaining in orbit. However, with the destruction of the launchpad, Blue Origin may not be able to participate.
A smaller Blue Origin robotic lunar lander, known as Blue Moon Mark I, was also scheduled to launch later this year on a New Glenn rocket. On Tuesday, NASA announced contracts for two New Glenn rockets to take rovers to the moon in 2028 for astronauts to drive during Artemis IV and Artemis V missions.
Industry Reactions
Elon Musk, founder of rival company SpaceX, commented 'As astra per aspera', which loosely translates to 'to the stars through difficulties'. Isaacman vowed to work with Blue Origin in its investigation, stating: 'Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts and get back to launching rockets.'
Previous Issues
The disaster comes weeks after the New Glenn rocket failed a mission to deliver a communications satellite into the correct orbit, prompting an investigation. Although the company successfully reused and recovered a booster for the rocket, the uncrewed mission did not deliver the satellite from AST SpaceMobile. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) required Blue Origin to conduct a 'mishap investigation', which was completed earlier this month. Blue Origin stated that thermal conditions caused one of the rocket's engines to not achieve its full thrust, missing its target orbit.
