Foto Blue Origin
The incident occurred on the evening of May 28 around 21:00 local time, when the company’s specialists were conducting a static burn of the engines of a heavy launch vehicle before the next stage of preparation for launch. Blue Origin confirmed the “abnormal situation” and said that none of the employees were injured, Meduza writes with reference to Blue Origin.
Bezos later called the incident a “very difficult day” for the company. According to him, it is too early to talk about the causes of the accident, but engineers have already started an investigation. “We will repair whatever it takes and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” the entrepreneur stated.
SpaceX CEO Ilon Musk, Bezos’ main competitor in the space industry, also reacted to the accident. “It’s very unfortunate. Rockets are not easy,” Musk wrote.
The incident comes days after NASA announced a contract with Blue Origin to launch the first of three missions as part of the agency’s lunar program. The project is estimated to cost about $20 billion.
NASA chief Jared Isaacman said the agency is aware of the incident and the circumstances of the accident will be scrutinized. “Spaceflight does not forgive mistakes, and the development of a new heavy rocket is one of the most difficult engineering tasks,” he emphasized.
The New Glenn accident comes against the backdrop of SpaceX’s recent successful Starship test. During the launch, the system put into orbit test vehicles and imitation satellites, confirming the progress of Musk’s program.
