A Blue Origin rocket explosion destroyed a New Glenn vehicle during a Thursday night test in Cape Canaveral, Florida, the company said.
Blue Origin said all personnel had been accounted for after the incident. The test involved New Glenn, the heavy-lift rocket built by Jeff Bezos’s space company.
Video from the launch site showed the rocket erupting on the pad. Reuters, AFP and The Associated Press reported the blast after Blue Origin confirmed the incident.
The explosion marked another setback for Blue Origin. The company is trying to expand New Glenn operations and compete more closely with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
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New Glenn is Blue Origin’s large orbital rocket program. The company designed it for heavier satellite and spaceflight missions.
Cape Canaveral is a major US launch hub for private space companies and government missions. Blue Origin had not immediately announced the cause of the explosion.
