Blue Origin rocket explodes during test, setback for bid to catch Musk's SpaceX

An uncrewed Blue ​Origin New Glenn rocket exploded on the 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, a YouTube channel that livestreams launches from Florida, showed the New Glenn 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.

Blue ​Origin said it had experienced an “anomaly”, a term commonly used by rocket companies to describe a launch failure or explosion.

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