Billion-dollar Blue Origin rocket destroyed during ground test
News Desk
Florida: A major setback has hit US billionaire Blue Origin after its New Glenn rocket exploded during a ground test in Florida on Thursday, according to company officials and media reports.
The unmanned rocket, which is approximately the height of a 29-story building and took nearly a decade and billions of dollars to develop, caught fire during a “hot fire test” at the launch pad, sending flames and thick smoke into the air.
Video footage shared by the NASA Spaceflight YouTube channel showed the rocket igniting on the pad around 9pm local time before erupting into a fireball moments later.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Blue Origin confirmed that an “anomaly” occurred during the engine test phase, which is conducted to evaluate a rocket’s performance before flight. The company added that all personnel remained safe and an investigation is underway.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos described the incident as a “very difficult day,” saying it was too early to determine the exact cause but promising that the company would rebuild and continue its space efforts.
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NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman also commented on the incident, describing spaceflight as a highly complex and challenging field. He said NASA would work with its partners to investigate the failure and assess its impact on upcoming lunar programs, including Artemis-related missions.
The accident comes shortly after NASA awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract for its unmanned cargo lunar lander project, which is expected to deliver scientific payloads and rovers to the Moon.
The explosion has intensified competition in the global space race, particularly between Blue Origin and SpaceX, both of which are developing lunar and deep-space systems for NASA missions. China is also advancing its own crewed lunar program targeting a mission by 2030.
SpaceX has also experienced similar incidents in the past, including a Starship test explosion in Texas last year.
Responding to the incident, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the event was “very sad,” noting that rocket development remains extremely difficult.
Blue Origin had recently announced plans to deploy 48 Amazon satellites into low-Earth orbit using the New Glenn rocket, as part of its effort to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink network.
The US Federal Aviation Administration said it was aware of the incident but confirmed that it did not affect air traffic in the region.
