A Blue Origin New Glenn rocket exploded during a static fire test at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday night, destroying the rocket and launch pad infrastructure. The incident threatens NASA's Artemis III mission timeline, as Blue Origin's Blue Moon MK2 lander was slated for that mission.
NASA may now have to rely solely on SpaceX's Starship for lunar landings. Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos vowed to investigate and rebuild.
The company had recently secured $468 million in contracts for uncrewed lunar missions.