The explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn on its launch pad during a static fire test on May 28 was just one of many that have rocked the Space Coast over the decades.
Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, a thunderous boom shook the Space Coast and the sky over Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station lit up orange. Blue Origin had been preparing New Glenn for a possible launch next week to carry Amazon Leo internet satellites to orbit.
No one was injured in the explosion.
Here are other rocket incidents over the years:
Jan. 27, 1967: Apollo fire
Three astronauts were killed when a fire broke out in an Apollo command module during a preflight test at Cape Canaveral. Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee were training for the first crewed Apollo flight that was planned to orbit Earth.
After the tragedy, changes were made to remove most of the flammable materials from the module. An easy-to-open hatch was also installed.
Jan. 28, 1986: Challenger
A crew of seven astronauts was killed 73 seconds after space shuttle Challenger lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on STS-51L, a mission that would have deployed a satellite and observed Halley’s Comet. Investigators said O-rings near the bottom of a solid rocket booster failed, allowing gasses to burn through and cause an explosion of the external fuel tank.
Astronauts Christa McAuliffe, Dick Scobee, Gregory Jarvis, Ronald McNair, Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik and Michael Smith were killed.
Jan. 17, 1997: Delta II
A bone-rattling explosion shook the Space Coast from Titusville to Melbourne when a Delta II rocket was automatically destroyed by its onboard computer. Investigators said the graphite-epoxy casing of one of the nine solid-rocket boosters split 7.2 seconds into flight, triggering the destruct system.
The explosion showered the launch pad and its surrounding area with flaming debris, but no injuries were reported.
Aug. 12, 1998: Titan IV
A top-secret Pentagon spy satellite was destroyed when a Lockheed Martin-built Titan IV rocket exploded shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Range safety officers sent a destruct signal to the rocket when it began to pitch over the Atlantic Ocean. Aerospace experts said the loss was calculated at $1.35 billion, making it one of the costliest launch failures in U.S. space history at the time.
All debris from the explosion landed in the ocean. No injuries were reported.
Aug. 26, 1998: Delta III
A Boeing-built Delta III rocket exploded just over a minute after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and sent a torrent of flaming debris into the Atlantic about 10 miles off the coast. Officials at the time said range safety officers sent a destruct signal to the rocket after it appeared to break up during flight.
No one was injured.
June 28, 2015: Falcon 9
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket broke apart more than 2 minutes after liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station while on a resupply mission to the International Space Station for NASA. SpaceX later said a broken strut led to an upper-stage tank rupture, causing the rocket to break apart.
No one was injured, but items such as an International Docking Ring Adapter, spacesuit and food for space station residents were destroyed.
Sept. 1, 2016: Falcon 9
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded during a static fire test at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, destroying the vehicle and a communications satellite. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the explosion originated in the upper-stage oxygen tank while it was being fueled for the test.
No injuries were reported.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explosion one of many Florida rocket failures
Reporting by Florida Today / Florida Today
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