Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket explodes during test at Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test Thursday evening at Cape Canaveral, with no injuries reported.wral
The rocket had been preparing for a June 4 mission to launch 48 Amazon Leo broadband satellites, the first such flight for Bezos' two companies together.geekwire+1
Bezos said on X the company is "already investigating" and vowed to rebuild, weeks after a prior New Glenn mission failed to reach its target orbit.wral

A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during an engine-firing test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday evening, sending a fireball into the night sky and rattling homes across the surrounding area. No injuries were reported.

The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. at Launch Complex 36, where residents of Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach felt tremors and soon flooded social media with images of the blast. Blue Origin confirmed the incident in a brief statement: "We encountered an anomaly during today's hotfire test. We will share updates as we gather more information."wral

Jeff Bezos responded on X, writing: "It's too early to determine the underlying cause, but we are already investigating. Today has been challenging, but we will reconstruct whatever needs to be rebuilt and resume our flights. It's worth the effort."wral

A Setback for Amazon's Satellite Ambitions

The rocket had been preparing for its fourth launch, designated NG-4, which was cleared by the FAA to fly as early as June 4 during a window from 1:21 to 3:03 p.m.. The mission was set to carry 48 satellites for Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. Leo, the company's low-Earth orbit broadband constellation formerly known as Project Kuiper. It would have marked the first time Blue Origin launched satellites for Amazon, linking the two most prominent companies founded by Bezos.geekwire+2

Amazon has contracted Blue Origin for 12 New Glenn launches, with options for up to 15 more, to deploy its planned constellation of 3,236 satellites.nextspaceflight+1

Compounding Troubles for New Glenn

The explosion compounds what has already been a difficult stretch for the rocket program. On April 19, New Glenn's third mission failed to deliver a satellite for AST SpaceMobile to the correct orbit after one of its upper-stage BE-3U engines did not produce sufficient thrust. That failure led to an FAA grounding and an investigation that was only completed on May 22, according to Ars Technica.space+2

Emergency responders were on site for over an hour following Thursday's explosion, though officials said there was no risk from fumes or other hazards. The extent of damage to launch infrastructure remains unclear, and the timeline for Blue Origin's return to flight is now uncertain.wral

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