Elon Musk says: Sorry to ..., as Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin test rocket explodes seconds after take off

Elon Musk offered words of support to Jeff Bezos after a Blue Origin rocket exploded during a test on May 28 marking another setback for the company’s New Glenn launch program. The incident occurred during a hot-fire engine test at the launch pad and produced a large fireball that was visible from nearby communities in Florida. Blue Origin said all personnel were safe and accounted for, while emergency officials confirmed there was no threat to the public. Following the incident, Blue Origin posted on X (formerly Twitter): “We experienced an anomaly during today's hotfire test. All personnel have been accounted for. We will provide updates as we learn more.”Blue Origin-rival SpaceX CEO Elon Musk replied: “Sorry to see this, I hope you recover quickly.”After the incident, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said the company was investigating the cause.“All personnel are accounted for and safe. It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it,” Bezos wrote.Musk later responded again with the phrase “Ad astra per aspera,” a Latin expression often translated as “through hardships to the stars.”The explosion happened at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36 during testing of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Residents in nearby Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach reported feeling their homes shake around 9 p.m. Local social media users also shared images of a large orange fireball in the sky.The explosion comes only months after New Glenn faced another setback. In April, one of the rocket’s missions left a satellite in the wrong orbit due to an engine-related problem, leading to the vehicle being grounded.New Glenn is a key part of Blue Origin’s future plans and is expected to support NASA lunar missions as the company competes with SpaceX in the growing commercial space market.