JAKARTA - Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad during an engine ignition test, Thursday night local time. The explosion shook houses around Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, Florida, and made the sky briefly orange.
According to a report by NBC News, quoted on Friday, May 29, there were no injuries in the incident at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The engine ignition test is a test to start the rocket engine on the runway before launch. Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, said the test was carried out ahead of the planned launch of a satellite next week. The cause of the explosion is not yet known.
"It's too early to know the root cause, but we're working hard to find it," Bezos said via X, quoted by NBC News. "It's a very heavy day, but we'll rebuild whatever needs to be rebuilt and get back flying. It's worth it."
New Glenn is not a small rocket. It is 321 feet or about 98 meters high. This rocket is prepared for heavy launch missions, including carrying a lunar lander for NASA.
NBC News reported that New Glenn had also been in trouble in April. The rocket was banned from flying after placing a satellite in the wrong orbit due to a failure of the engine. The orbit is a distribution path for objects in outer space. At that time, New Glenn had only flown for the third time.
Blue Origin previously targeted a test flight of a prototype lunar lander in the fall of this year. Earlier this week, NASA also awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch two lunar rovers in the next few years as part of the Artemis program, NASA's program to return to the Moon.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the development of a heavy-lift rocket is very difficult.
"Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy launch capabilities is very difficult," Isaacman said via X. He promised to provide information if there were any impact on the Artemis program.
The explosion occurred at around 21.00. Residents of the area were crowded with questions on social media. Launch Complex 36 is visible from the beach, so the photo of the orange fireball quickly spread on the internet.
The rocket was originally scheduled to launch next week carrying an internet satellite for the Amazon Leo constellation.
Emergency teams were still at the scene more than an hour after the blast. Local officials confirmed there was no threat from smoke or other potential dangers.
Space Force officials also said the incident would not disrupt other companies' launches from different launch pads. United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket is scheduled to launch Friday night carrying Amazon's Leo satellite, the same type of payload that New Glenn was originally scheduled to carry.
Elon Musk of SpaceX also expressed his sympathy. "I'm sad to see this, I hope you recover soon," Musk told Blue Origin via X.
New Glenn debuts in 2025. Its name is taken from John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. This rocket is much larger and more powerful than the New Shepard, Blue Origin's rocket that takes tourists to the outer edge of space from Texas.
The incident is a blow to Blue Origin. In the space business, one explosion can set back schedules, raise costs, and test confidence. For New Glenn, the next job is to find the cause of the explosion before flying again.
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