Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded on the launchpad during a test in Florida on Thursday evening, marking the latest setback for Jeff Bezos's space venture as it seeks to close the gap with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Footage of the incident shows smoke emerging from underneath the rocket before it erupts into a massive fireball, sending a towering plume of flames and smoke into the air. Emergency crews remained at the scene for over an hour, but officials said there was no threat from fumes or other hazards. No injuries were reported.

“We experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire test,” Blue Origin said in a brief statement on X, adding that “all personnel have been accounted for.” A hot-fire test involves firing a rocket engine while it is anchored to the ground.

In a separate X post, Bezos said it was “too early to know the root cause” of the incident. “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” he added.

US Representative Mike Haridopolos, whose Florida district includes the Cape Canaveral launch site, said on X that he had been in contact with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman regarding the explosion. “I am grateful there were no reported injuries and thankful for the first responders, engineers, and launch crews who acted quickly,” Haridopolos said.

Blue Origin is preparing the New Glenn rocket to launch 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of efforts to build a broadband constellation to rival Musk's Starlink network. Musk responded to a video of the explosion on X, saying: “Most unfortunate. Rockets are hard.”

Last month, the New Glenn rocket failed a mission to deliver a communications satellite into the correct orbit, prompting an investigation.

Source: www.aljazeera.com