Texas: Jeff Bezos’ rocket company suffered its first launch failure. No one was aboard, only science experiments. The Blue Origin rocket blasted off from West Texas and was barely a minute into the flight when bright yellow flames shot out from around the single engine at the bottom.
The capsule’s emergency launch abort system immediately kicked in, lifting the craft off the top. Several minutes later, the capsule parachuted onto the remote desert floor. The rocket crashed back to Earth with no injuries or damage reported, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
Although this New Shepard rocket was dedicated to flying experiments, it was the same kind used for launching people on 10-minute rides to the edge of space. The rocket is grounded pending the outcome of an investigation, said the FAA, which is in charge of public safety during commercial space launches and landings.
Blue Origin’s launch commentary went silent when the capsule catapulted off the rocket Monday morning, eventually announcing: It appears we’ve experienced an anomaly with today’s flight. This wasn’t planned.” Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight. Escape system performed as designed, the Kent, Washington-based company tweeted close to an hour later. Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight.
