Joe Raedle /GettyBillionaire Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin suffered a rocket engine explosion during testing last month, when its BE-4 rocket engine detonated about 10 seconds into the test. The explosion destroyed the engine and severely damaged the company’s testing infrastructure.reportSources told the outlet that they saw video of a dramatic explosion that destroyed the engine and causes severe damage to the test stand infrastructure.
“No personnel were injured and we are currently assessing root cause,” a Blue Origin spokesperson told CNBC. “We already have proximate cause and are working on remedial actions.”While the explosion also suggests that the company’s already-delayed first Vulcan launch will be further pushed back, the Blue Origin spokesperson insisted “the BE-4 testing issue is not expected to impact our plans for the Vulcan Cert-1 mission.
Sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity said the engine that exploded was supposed to finish testing in July. After that, it was going to be sent to Blue Origin’s customer United Launch Alliance for use on its second Vulcan rocket launch, they added. ULA is the rocket-building joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, a competitor of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.