Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket explodes during test at Cape Canaveral

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during a test at Cape Canaveral, Florida, sending a large fireball over its launch pad, according to footage from the scene. The company said all personnel have been accounted for.

The explosion happened during a hotfire test at Launch Complex 36, where Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket was fueling ahead of a planned static fire test. Images from a livestream showed the rocket on the pad before a sudden explosion engulfed the area.

“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”

New Glenn is Blue Origin’s heavy-lift orbital rocket and is launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, has been working to use the rocket for commercial satellite launches and other missions.

The rocket was being prepared for its fourth launch, which was expected to carry 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low Earth orbit, according to Blue Origin.

The extent of the damage at the launch complex was not immediately known. There was no immediate word on what caused the explosion, but video showed the rocket appearing to break apart in a massive fireball.

The explosion comes just weeks after New Glenn’s third flight, which failed to deliver an AST SpaceMobile satellite into orbit, according to TechCrunch. The mission ended in a total loss after the rocket’s upper stage failed.

The FAA cleared New Glenn to fly again last week after Blue Origin completed an investigation into that failure.