Jeff Bezos' company Blue Origin failed in its experiment yesterday as one of its rockets burst into flames only a minute after being ejected. Soon after the failed attempt, the company took to its social media platform to inform its followers about the incident. The post reads: "We’re responding to an issue this morning at our Launch Site One location in West Texas. This was a payload mission with no astronauts on board."
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Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin rockets failed a little over a minute after its takeout and exploded into flames.
It is reproed that New Shepard mission 23 was launched from Van Horn, Texas.
Reports also suggest that while the capsule can carry 6 astronauts ar the time, at the time of the experiment it was not carrying anyone onboard.
Image Credit: Blue Origin
Within just over a minute, having reached roughly 28,000 feet (8,500m) above ground and traveling at 700mph (1,126 kph), the Blue Origin rocket - owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos - burst into flames.
After the failed launch, the company took to its Twitter account to update followers about the failure and the incident.
The post reads: "We’re responding to an issue this morning at our Launch Site One location in West Texas. This was a payload mission with no astronauts on board."
Image Credit: Blue Origin
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Even though no astronauts were onboard, the rocket company explained that the 'capsule escape system' still 'function as designed' ejecting the crew capsule, which then parachuted back to the ground safely.
"During today’s flight, the capsule escape system successfully separated the capsule from the booster. The booster impacted the ground. There are no reported injuries; all personnel have been accounted for," Blue Origin continued.
Image Credit: Blue Origin
The New Shepard rocket is a 'reusable suborbital rocket system designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space,' according to Blue Origin's website.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told Insider that an investigation will have to take place into the New Shepard before it's allowed to be launched again.
Image Credit: Blue Origin
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The FAA stated: "The capsule landed safely and the booster impacted within the designated hazard area. No injuries or public property damage have been reported.
"[However] the FAA will [have to] determine whether any system, process, or procedure related to the mishap affected public safety. This is standard practice for all mishap investigations."
Image Credit: Blue Origin
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The first trip to New Shepard was back on July 20, 2021, when Bezos was also inside.
Following this trip, Bezos subsequently became the wealthiest man ever to travel onboard a successful spaceflight.
Star Trek actor William Shatner joined the second crewed flight on the New Shepard. Shatner broke the record for the oldest person to reach space at the age of 90.
Similarly to yesterday's launch, there were issues with the launch of the New Shepard on its second trip to space, with the launch having to be delayed by 24 hours because of the weather conditions at the launch site.