The Blue Origin rocket exploded violently, creating a sea of fire that engulfed the launch pad.

The incident occurred on the evening of May 28th (US time) in Florida when Blue Origin was conducting a static burn test on its New Glenn, a heavy rocket that has been under development for nearly 10 years.

Video shows Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploding during testing. (Source: Spaceflight Now)

Video recorded by NASA Spaceflight shows the rocket activating its engines before suddenly transforming into a large fireball, creating a column of smoke and flames that rose high into the sky.

Blue Origin has confirmed that an "unusual incident" occurred during testing.

"We experienced an incident during today's static combustion test. All personnel are safe and have been fully accounted for. We will provide further updates as soon as we have more information," the company stated on social media platform X.

Static combustion testing is a crucial pre-launch test in which the engine is activated while the rocket remains stationary on its launch pad to assess the system's performance and stability.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency is closely monitoring the situation.

"Space operations are always challenging, especially the development of next-generation heavy rockets. We will work with partners to investigate the cause, assess the impact on upcoming missions, and get flights back into operation," Isaacman wrote on X.

NASA said it would assess the impact of the incident on the Artemis program and plans to build a permanent base on the Moon.

Just days before the explosion, NASA awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to transport lunar rovers to the Moon using the unmanned Mark 1 cargo lander as part of the Artemis program.

Billionaire Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin, said it was too early to determine the cause of the incident.

"It was a tough day, but we'll fix what needs fixing and get back on the plane. It was totally worth it," Bezos wrote on X.

The explosion was a major blow to the New Glenn program, a project that Blue Origin had invested billions of dollars in over nearly 10 years to compete with SpaceX's Falcon and Starship rocket lines.

The New Glenn rocket, which is about the height of a 29-story building, was designed with a reusable first stage. Before the incident, Blue Origin planned to use this rocket to launch 48 Amazon Project Kuiper internet satellites into low Earth orbit, directly competing with SpaceX's Starlink network.

Blue Origin and SpaceX are currently two key partners in NASA's program to return humans to the Moon. The two companies are developing lunar landers to help deliver astronauts to the lunar surface before China undertakes its planned crewed mission in 2030.

However, SpaceX has also faced similar failures on numerous occasions.

Last June, the Starship spacecraft exploded during a test in Texas while preparing for a test flight. In the most recent Starship test, SpaceX successfully deployed the simulated satellites and landed the spacecraft in the Indian Ocean as planned, but the Super Heavy booster failed to make a controlled landing.

Commenting on the Blue Origin explosion, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wrote on X: "It's a shame. Building rockets is very difficult."

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it was aware of the incident but confirmed it did not affect air traffic in the area.

(Source: Reuters)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/ten-lua-blue-origin-phat-no-du-doi-tao-bien-lua-bao-trum-be-phong-ar1020676.html