5月28日，杰夫·贝佐斯的蓝色起源（Blue Origin）在卡纳维拉尔角进行新格伦号（New Glenn）火箭测试时遭遇了巨大的发射台爆炸，摧毁了该公司唯一的发射台。这次事故将使这家航空航天公司停摆至少六个月，让人联想到SpaceX在2016年需要15个月进行修复的爆炸事件。

此次爆炸严重影响了亚马逊的Leo卫星互联网项目，该项目已预订了83次发射（包括与蓝色起源合作的多达27次），以部署3,000多颗低轨道卫星。尽管亚马逊最近以116亿美元收购了Globalstar，但其在满足7月内部署其半数星座的监管截止日期方面已经面临困难，如今努力变得更加复杂。

此外，该灾难威胁到美国国家航空航天局（NASA）建立永久基地并在2028年初将人类送回月球的计划。蓝色起源原定于今年秋季向月球表面运送三吨货物的任务现已被推迟，这凸显了美国在与中国的太空竞赛中依赖商业合作伙伴的风险。

On May 28th, Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin suffered a massive launchpad explosion during a New Glenn rocket test at Cape Canaveral, wrecking the company's only launchpad. This accident will sideline the aerospace firm for at least six months, evoking comparisons to a SpaceX detonation in 2016 that required 15 months of repairs.

The explosion severely impacts Amazon's Leo satellite-internet project, which has booked 83 launches (including up to 27 with Blue Origin) to deploy over 3,000 low-orbit satellites. Already struggling to meet a July regulatory deadline to deploy half its constellation, Amazon's efforts are further complicated despite its recent $11.6 billion purchase of Globalstar.

Furthermore, the disaster threatens NASA's plans to build a permanent base and return humans to the Moon by early 2028. Blue Origin’s scheduled autumn mission to ferry three tonnes of cargo to the lunar surface is now postponed, highlighting the risks of US reliance on commercial partners in the space race against China.

Source: Rocket goes boom; so do moon plans

Subtitle: The phenomenal explosion could blow a hole in Amazon’s plans and NASA’s too

Dateline: June 4th 2026