Blue Origin, the “fly-me-to-the-moon” rocket company owned by Amazon Executive Jeff Bezos, had a launch failure September 12. Luckily, no one was onboard, and no lives were lost. It was the first recorded accident by Blue Origin. 

After its launch in Texas, the Blue Origin rocket burst into flames. The emergency abort system sprung into action, and the top capsule was ejected. It safely parachuted onto a desert floor. It was technically a crash, but no one was hurt on the ground. 

Commentators manning their computers became silent as they watched the engine go on fire. They made an announcement, “It appears that we have experienced an anomaly with today’s flight; this wasn’t planned.” 

An hour later, the company tweeted, “Booster failure on today’s uncrewed flight, escape system performed as designed.” 

Although the new rocket was mainly used for experiments, they use the same missiles to send people for short rides into space. The aircraft and the launch operation are under investigation, awaiting a decision, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agency is in charge of public safety during commercial rocket launches. The rocket was at an altitude of 28,000 feet, traveling at the speed of 700 mph when it exploded and the capsule was ejected.

The capsule reached a maximum altitude of 37,000 feet, and there were around thirty-six experiments on board, including projects by students. There is no video footage of the rocket exploding. However, there is a video of the launch and the capsule landing on YouTube.

It was the 23rd rocket launch of the space program, and it was the first time a failure took place.

Blue Origin’s most recent flight with customers was last month. It was a 10-minute flight around space, and although the ticket prices are not yet confirmed, they are rumored to be very high. Famous actor William Shatner was reportedly one of the people on board during the 10-minute space flight. The tweet by the company is the last time they officially said anything.

The incident caused no damage or injuries, but raised eyebrows about what could have happened if people were on board. The public is demanding answers from the company and the people responsible for the accident. There are still a few decisions to be made by the authorities and the company.

Blue Origin’s rockets have been grounded pending  an investigation by the FAA. It was a major setback for the company.