A rocket belonging to billionaire Jeff Bezos’ private space company is said to have accidentally exploded during a test last month. However, the incident was reportedly not disclosed to the public just a month after he signed a major contract with Nasa.
“No employees were injured and we are currently evaluating the root cause… We already have a proximate cause and are working on corrective actions,” a Blue Origin spokesman said, according to The Independent on Wednesday.
On June 30, one of the company’s missiles, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, reportedly exploded in west Texas during an acceptance test called “Authority to continue” — “authorized to continue” in French — in which every component of the missile before was examined during a flight.
Relatively routine at the beginning of a production run. Later, when the automatic shutdown system is well tuned, they become less frequent.
—Tory Bruno (@torybruno) July 12, 2023
However, this event, which was reportedly not publicly announced, is said to have come just a month after NASA signed a $3.4 billion contract to carry out research as part of the Artemis V program planned for 2029 to send astronauts to the moon.
According to English-language media, the company is responsible for developing the ship that will transport the crew, as well as a human landing system.
However, according to Tory Bruno, President of the United Launch Alliance (ULA), such incidents are “not uncommon” and part of rocket development.
“Relatively routine at the start of a production cycle. Later, when the shutdown system is well tuned, they become rarer,” he said in a tweet after being questioned by a user.