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{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":null,"text":"A rocket explodes while sitting on a launch pad
"}],[{"start":7.65,"text":"Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded during testing on Thursday, days before it planned to launch internet satellites for Amazon, in a further setback for Jeff Bezos’s space company. "}],[{"start":19.450000000000003,"text":"The company said it had “experienced an anomaly during today’s hotfire”, a pre-flight procedure in which the rocket was loaded with fuel and its engines were fired to test systems."}],[{"start":31.1,"text":"Blue Origin said all personnel were accounted for and it was investigating the incident. "}],[{"start":36,"text":"Multiple employees told the FT an initial assessment of the site showed severe damage to Blue Origin’s only launch pad and other equipment, including a lightning tower and transporter erector used to lift rockets into position ahead of launch."}],[{"start":50.55,"text":"The failure was expected to severely impact the company’s launch plans this year, the people added."}],[{"start":56.55,"text":"“Very rough day,” Bezos posted on X, “but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”"}],[{"start":64.55,"text":"New Glenn was scheduled to ferry 48 satellites for Amazon’s Leo internet constellation on Monday. Video footage from the launch pad in Florida showed the rocket exploding into a fiery mass on Thursday night."}],[{"start":78.64999999999999,"text":"Blue Origin has been seeking to build up its launch cadence and planned to carry out 12 flights using New Glenn this year. It is aiming to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which is on course for a record initial public offering next month."}],[{"start":91.39999999999999,"text":"“Most unfortunate,” Musk posted on X after the New Glenn explosion. “Rockets are hard.”"}],[{"start":97.49999999999999,"text":"Both companies have successfully launched and landed the booster stage of their rockets — the portion used to lift the vehicle off the ground — but they have also suffered a series of mishaps."}],[{"start":107.99999999999999,"text":"SpaceX lost one of its Starship rockets — the largest ever produced — on a test stand in June last year after suffering a “major anomaly”. Multiple launches have concluded with the company losing control of its rocket. "}],[{"start":121.84999999999998,"text":"Blue Origin has taken a more cautious approach to launches but suffered delays and its own set of failures."}],[{"start":127.69999999999997,"text":"In April, the company lost a satellite it planned to deploy for customer AST SpaceMobile during the third launch of its 98-metre heavy-lift rocket, which suffered a “thrust anomaly” and deployed the satellite at an altitude too low for it to maintain operation."}],[{"start":142.84999999999997,"text":"US regulators grounded Blue Origin’s rocket, but the company was cleared for flight following an incident report last week. The sharp turnaround surprised analysts, who had expected it to be out of action for several months."}],[{"start":156.14999999999998,"text":"Amazon is relying on Blue Origin to help it meet regulatory deadlines for the build-out of its Leo internet constellation. It has paid Blue Origin $2.7bn to help launch its satellites."}],[{"start":167.45,"text":"Josh Parker, an analyst at Washington-based strategy consultancy Capstone, said Thursday’s failure would force Blue Origin’s customers to contract additional capacity from SpaceX."}],[{"start":179.5,"text":"“[SpaceX’s] biggest competitor and the only other company to reuse a booster is sidelined,” he said. "}],[{"start":187.1,"text":"Bezos’s rocket company holds several government contracts and was this week awarded $468mn by Nasa for two uncrewed landers, which will support plans to build a lunar base as part of wider US ambitions to return people to the Moon by late 2028. "}],[{"start":205.1,"text":"Nasa administrator Jared Isaacman said the agency would work with Blue Origin to “support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts and get back to launching rockets”. "}],[{"start":216.95,"text":"“We will provide information on any impacts to the Artemis and Moon Base programmes as it becomes available,” he added."}],[{"start":225,"text":"Amazon did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":235.5,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780039490_2275.mp3"}