Blue Origin rocket explodes on launchpad in a setback for bid to catch Musk's SpaceX

An un-crewed Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on a Florida launchpad during a test on Thursday, in a major setback for Jeff Bezos’ space venture as it seeks to narrow the gap with Elon Musk's IPO-bound SpaceX.

Video posted by NASASpaceflight, which livestreams launches from Florida, showed the towering New Glenn rocket igniting on the pad at about 2100 ET (0100 GMT on Friday) before erupting into a massive fireball that billowed skyward, sending a towering plume of flames and smoke into the air.

The location was verified as Cape Canaveral, Florida by the coastline, launch pad facilities, water tower and buildings, which matched file and satellite imagery. The date was verified from the timestamp in a livestream posted by the source and the metadata of another video verified by Reuters of the same event.

Blue Origin was preparing the rocket for its fourth launch, which was due to deliver 48 Amazon Leo satellites into low-Earth orbit, part of efforts to build a broadband constellation to rival Musk’s Starlink network. Amazon Leo satellites were not integrated on the rocket at the time of the incident, a source familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named due to its sensitivity.

The explosion marks the latest setback for the long-delayed New Glenn, which is supposed to play a central role in delivering lunar landers and cargo under NASA's Artemis lunar exploration missions.

SpaceX, which unveiled its plans for an IPO earlier this month and is set to become the first trillion-dollar US market debut, has also faced setbacks with its rockets.

In June last year, its massive Starship spacecraft exploded in a similarly dramatic fireball during testing in Texas while preparing for a test flight.