Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Faces Setback: Explosion Rocks Static Fire Test in Florida

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — During an engine test on Thursday evening, a Blue Origin rocket met with a fiery explosion on the launch pad, as confirmed by the company.

The incident took place at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, where the test was meant to pave the way for the company’s forthcoming launch of the New Glenn rocket. This mission was set to deploy 48 Amazon satellites into low-earth orbit.

Blue Origin reported via social media that the rocket “encountered an anomaly during today’s hotfire test.”

In a separate communication, Jeff Bezos, the owner of Blue Origin, expressed: “All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to pinpoint the cause, but we’re already investigating. It was a challenging day, but we’ll rebuild whatever’s necessary and resume flying. It’s worth it.”

Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, representing the area where Cape Canaveral is situated, stated on social media that there were no injuries reported. He added that the fire resulting from the explosion is being allowed to extinguish naturally.

The sheriff reassured the public that there is no risk or threat to the local community.

A static fire engine test is when the rocket’s engines are ignited and run at full thrust while the vehicle is attached to the launch tower. The vehicle is unable to go anywhere during the test. The goal is to verify that everything works under real operating conditions before committing to an actual launch.

The incident is a significant setback for Blue Origin. The upcoming mission would have been only the fourth time the rocket had flown, and Thursday’s explosion followed an earlier failed mission in which the company was unable to successfully place a commercial payload in the proper orbit.

NASA has contracted Blue Origin to provide lunar landers for the Artemis and Moon Base programs. The landers would need the company’s New Glenn rocket to get into orbit.

In a statement, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the space agency was aware of the incident.

“Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult,” Isaacman said in the statement. “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.”

Isaacman added: “We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programs as it becomes available.”