Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded late Thursday nighty during a static fire test at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Footage published on social media showed the rocket igniting on the launch pad shortly before exploding and turning into a large fireball, with flames and smoke visible from a distance.
New Glenn is Blue Origin’s flagship rocket, designed for commercial launches and advanced space missions. In recent years, the company has been working to expand its activity in the heavy-launch sector and compete in a market currently led by Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
In a statement posted on X, the company said that an "anomaly" occurred during the test - a term used in the space industry to describe a malfunction or failure during operational activity.
"We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test," the statement read. "All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more."
"Most unfortunate," Musk wrote on X, in his response to the incident. "Rockets are hard."
The explosion marks another blow to Blue Origin’s efforts to advance the New Glenn launch program and increase its market share in the commercial space sector.