Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket erupted into a massive fireball during a test on Thursday, marking another significant setback for billionaire Jeff Bezos’s space ambitions.
Dramatic footage circulating online showed the towering rocket exploding into an inferno moments into the test at Cape Canaveral in the U.S. state of Florida.
The blast produced a huge mushroom cloud of smoke as shocked spectators watching the launch reacted with screams of “Oh no!” and “Oh my God!”
In a brief statement posted on X, Blue Origin confirmed that the company experienced an “anomaly” during the test but noted that all personnel had been safely accounted for.
Bezos also reacted to the incident on X, saying the company had already begun investigating the cause of the explosion.
“It’s too early to know the root cause, but we’re already working to find it,” Bezos wrote.
“Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
The New Glenn rocket, which stands about 98 metres (321 feet) tall, is central to Blue Origin’s long-term commercial space strategy and its competition with SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by Elon Musk.
SpaceX is currently developing Starship, regarded as the largest and most powerful rocket ever built.
Musk reacted to the explosion by offering condolences to Blue Origin, describing the accident as “most unfortunate.”
The latest explosion comes only weeks after New Glenn failed a previous mission intended to place a communications satellite into its correct orbit.
Although Blue Origin successfully recovered and reused the rocket booster during that mission, the uncrewed launch failed to properly deploy the satellite belonging to AST SpaceMobile.
Following that incident, the Federal Aviation Administration required Blue Origin to conduct a formal mishap investigation.
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Blue Origin later stated that thermal conditions prevented one of the rocket’s engines from achieving full thrust, causing the mission to miss its target orbit.
“The FAA has approved our NG-3 report, and corrective measures have been implemented,” the company said last week.
Reacting to Thursday’s explosion, Florida Congressman Mike Haridopolos said he had been in contact with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman regarding the incident.
“I am grateful there were no reported injuries and thankful for the first responders, engineers, and launch crews who acted quickly,” Haridopolos said.
NASA and Blue Origin are currently collaborating on the development of a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis missions aimed at returning humans to the Moon.
Isaacman acknowledged the explosion and described the challenge of developing heavy-lift launch systems as extremely difficult.
“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” he wrote on X.
NASA plans to test orbital rendezvous operations involving lunar landers in 2027 and aims to carry out a crewed lunar landing before the end of 2028.
However, aerospace experts have repeatedly expressed doubts about whether both Blue Origin and SpaceX can meet their ambitious timelines.