A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test at the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida on May 28, shaking nearby homes and briefly painting the sky orange.
A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a test at the launch pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force station in Florida on May 28.
The explosion occurred during an engine-firing test being conducted ahead of a satellite launch planned for next week. The New Glenn rocket was grounded in April after it left a satellite in the wrong orbit due to engine failure. It was only the third flight of the rocket that Blue Origin intends to use to launch landers to the moon for Nasa, including the landers that will take astronauts to the lunar surface.
The company had been on track to launch a prototype lunar lander to the moon on a flight test this fall. Earlier this week, the space agency awarded Blue Origin a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars to launch a pair of moon buggies in the next few years as part of the Artemis programme. Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult, Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman said.
Homes shook in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach around 9pm, with residents turning to social media to wonder what happened. The rocket was supposed to blast off next week with internet satellites that are part of the Amazon Leo constellation in orbit. Officials stressed there was no threat due to fumes or other potential hazards. Space Force officials said the explosion would not affect upcoming launches by other companies from other pads.
United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket is due to blast off Friday night with a batch of Amazon Leo satellites, the same kind that this rocket was supposed to take up. SpaceX's Elon Musk, who's had his own share of rocket explosions, offered his condolences.
The New Glenn rocket is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, and is much bigger and more powerful than the New Shepard rockets that have carried tourists to the fringes of space from Texas
Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Cape Canaveral Spacex Nasa
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