A Blue Origin rocket exploded during a hotfire test at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday night, severely damaging the company’s only launchpad for its New Glenn launch vehicle.
The explosion occurred at around 9 p.m. while the Jeff Bezos-owned space company was conducting pre-launch testing. Blue Origin said it experienced an “anomaly” during the test but confirmed that all personnel had been accounted for and no injuries were reported.
The blast heavily damaged Launch Complex 36 and surrounding equipment, potentially sidelining the launch site for months. The New Glenn rocket had been scheduled to carry 48 satellites for Amazon’s low-Earth orbit internet constellation, a rival to SpaceX’s Starlink network. The satellites were not onboard at the time of the incident.
“It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it,” Bezos said on social media. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”
The setback could also affect NASA’s Artemis lunar program. Blue Origin is one of two companies selected by NASA to develop lunar landers for future moon missions, a plan that relies on multiple New Glenn launches. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency would work with its partners to investigate the anomaly and assess any potential impact on upcoming Artemis missions.