Jeff Bezos’ space ambitions went up in flames on Thursday night when a Blue Origin rocket exploded in a massive fireball during testing at a Florida launch pad.
The New Glenn rocket erupted around 9p.m. ET at Cape Canaveral while engineers were preparing for a planned engine test ahead of its next mission, according to CBS News.
Blue Origin acknowledged the explosion in a statement posted to X, saying it had experienced an “anomaly” during testing.
“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” the company said.
“All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”
Bezos later struck a defiant tone on X, saying it was still “too early” to determine the cause of the explosion but vowing that Blue Origin would recover.
“Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” he wrote.
The explosion could complicate plans for the rocket’s next mission, which was scheduled to launch as soon as June 4 carrying 48 satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet service.
Project Kuiper is Amazon’s bid to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet network, setting up a direct rivalry between the two billionaire-backed space ventures.
The blast lit up the night sky over Florida’s Space Coast, with residents in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach reporting that their homes shook from the explosion.
Photos and videos of the orange fireball quickly spread across social media.
The incident marks the latest setback for Blue Origin. New Glenn was temporarily grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration in April after an upper-stage engine issue left a satellite in the wrong orbit.
Musk, whose SpaceX is also competing with Blue Origin for NASA contracts and commercial launches, offered a brief reaction of his own.
“Most unfortunate,” he wrote on X. “Rockets are hard.”
The explosion comes just days after Bezos used a CNBC appearance to tout Blue Origin’s efforts to slash the cost of reaching orbit, a key part of his vision for moving more infrastructure into space.
“Launch cost has to come down very significantly by a factor of 10,” Bezos said.
“That’s what we’re working on right here. That’s what Blue Origin is doing, and this team is on fire doing that.”
