During an engine-firing test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday night, a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket burst, blasting a fireball into the night sky and shaking nearby homes. There were no reported injuries.
Residents of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach experienced tremors following the explosion at Launch Complex 36 around 9 p.m., and they quickly inundated social media with pictures of the incident. In a succinct statement, Blue Origin acknowledged the occurrence: “We found an abnormality during today’s hotfire test. We’ll provide updates as we learn more.
“We are already investigating, but it’s too early to determine the underlying cause,” Jeff Bezos wrote in response on X. Although today has been difficult, we will rebuild anything that has to be rebuilt and start flying again. The effort is worthwhile.
A Blow To Amazon’s Satellite Goals
The rocket was getting ready for its fourth launch, known as NG-4, which the FAA authorized to go off as early as June 4 between 1:21 and 3:03 p.m. Amazon Leo, the company’s low-Earth orbit broadband constellation originally known as Project Kuiper, was to receive 48 satellites from the mission. It would have been the first time Blue Origin launched satellites for Amazon, connecting Bezos’s two most well-known businesses.
To launch its intended constellation of 3,236 satellites, Amazon has hired Blue Origin for 12 New Glenn flights, with options for up to 15 more.
Adding To New Glenn’s Problems
What has already been a challenging period for the rocket program is made worse by the explosion. Due to insufficient thrust from one of its upper-stage BE-3U engines, New Glenn’s third flight on April 19 was unable to deploy a satellite for AST SpaceMobile to the proper orbit. According to Ars Technica, this malfunction resulted in an FAA grounding and an investigation that wasn’t finished until May 22.
After the explosion on Thursday, emergency personnel were on the scene for more than an hour, but authorities stated there was no risk from fumes or other dangers. It’s still unclear how much of the launch infrastructure has been damaged, and it’s unclear when Blue Origin will resume flying.