Jeff Bezos’ space venture suffered a dramatic launchpad explosion during a hot-fire test, delaying plans to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in lunar and satellite missions.
An uncrewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket erupted into a fireball during a test on Thursday, in a significant setback for Jeff Bezos’ space venture. Video posted online by NASASpaceflight showed the rocket igniting on the pad at around 21:00 ET (01:00 GMT Friday) before detonating, sending flames and smoke towering into the sky.
Blue Origin described the event as an “anomaly”, a standard term used in the space industry to indicate a test failure or explosion. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more,” the company said in a post on X.
A hot-fire test involves firing a rocket’s engines while the vehicle remains anchored to the ground.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency was aware of the explosion.
“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,” he said on X.
NASA confirmed it would assess any impacts to Artemis lunar missions and Moon Base plans. Earlier this week, the agency awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to deliver rovers to the lunar surface using its uncrewed Mark 1 cargo lander.
Jeff Bezos commented on X that it was “too early to know the root cause” of the explosion. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” he said.
Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are competing to support lunar missions and expand satellite networks. SpaceX, which is preparing for its IPO, has also experienced dramatic test failures, including last year’s Starship explosion in Texas.
Most recently, SpaceX partially succeeded in its 12th Starship test flight, deploying mock satellites but failing to land the Super Heavy booster. Musk reacted to Blue Origin’s test failure on X, stating: “Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard.”
Blue Origin had been preparing the New Glenn rocket to launch 48 Amazon LEO satellites into low-Earth orbit, aiming to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink broadband network.
The company has spent roughly a decade and billions of dollars developing New Glenn, a 29-storey rocket with a reusable first stage intended to rival SpaceX’s Falcon fleet and Starship.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed it was aware of the incident but said it fell outside its regulatory scope and posed no impact to air traffic in the region.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is outlining the EU's priorities in her annual State of the Union address, covering security...
Central Asia and South Korea are targeting annual trade of $20 billion by 2030, almost double last year’s record of more than $10 billion, fo...
A skyscraper, a six-tower district, and a launch event timed to coincide with Georgian Dream's long campaign for warmer ties with the Trump adm...
U.S. Central Command said 101 commercial vessels have been redirected in the Strait of Hormuz, while oil prices rose more than three per cent amid fresh regional attacks and supply concerns.
U.S. President Donald Trump has again said Iran is keen to reach a deal quickly, but a senior Iranian security official rejected the claim, saying Tehran will not negotiate until its conditions are met.
A Danish military helicopter came within “metres” of being struck by flares fired by a Russian warship, Denmark's Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus said on Tuesday. Russia accused Denmark of carrying out “dangerous manoeuvres” near its ship, and said it was investigating the incident.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is outlining the EU's priorities in her annual State of the Union address, covering security, support for Ukraine, trade with China, migration, climate and artificial intelligence.
Saudi Arabia said its air defences destroyed a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it could enter prohibited airspace over the holy city, as attacks by the Iran-aligned group deepen regional tensions.
Wednesday's session of the 24th Arab Media Summit in Dubai has shifted the discussion towards a central question for modern media: how can regional news organisations tell their own stories while reaching audiences far beyond their borders?
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was carrying out tests on a new weapon to intercept drones and had recorded a successful hit overnight.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is outlining the EU's priorities in her annual State of the Union address, covering security, support for Ukraine, trade with China, migration, climate and artificial intelligence.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 16 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Russia will hold parliamentary elections from 18 to 20 September 2026, the country's first State Duma vote since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment