Olivia Cavallaro Science 09.13.2022 21:Sep PM EDT

FAA Grounds Blue Origin's New Shepard Amid Investigation Over Rocket Failure

FAA and Blue Origin are now working to establish the cause of the rocket failure.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has officially grounded the New Shepard rocket of Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin, which launched the reusable booster on Monday but encountered issues that caused the spacecraft to crash. The agency, which is in charge of licensing commercial space launches, is now overseeing Blue Origin's investigation, which seeks to understand the reason behind the failure of Monday's launch.

"Before the New Shepard vehicle can return to flight, the FAA will determine whether any system, process or procedure related to the mishap affected public safety," the FAA said in a statement released on Monday, as per Space Policy Online. "This is standard practice for all mishap investigations."

Blue Origin's New Shepard Rocket Encounters Malfunction During Launch

Early development of what would become Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket began back in 2006. The New Shepard was first completed in February 2016 and were made up of a first-stage booster and a capsule, which were designed to transport astronauts and cargo on short trips to orbital space, Space.com reported. Monday's launch was Blue Origin's 23rd for the New Shepard program and 17th attempt without any astronauts on board.

However, on Monday, the New Shepard rocket lifted off from Blue Origin's launch site near Van Horn, Texas. According to Reuters, the goal was to transport experiments funded by NASA and other payloads to suborbital space and spend a few minutes in microgravity.

But when the spacecraft reached eight kilometers above the ground about one minute after it lifted off, the New Shepard rocket's booster's engines unexpectedly flared while ascending. This caused the capsule's abort motor to be triggered automatically, pushing the spacecraft away from the malfunctioning rocket before making its way back to Earth with a parachute.

Meanwhile, the booster came crashing back down to Earth within the designated hazard area, the FAA confirmed. The agency then ordered the rest of Blue Origin's New Shepard rockets to be grounded while the investigation is ongoing.

Blue Origin Ensures New Shepard Rocket Safety

On Monday, Blue Origin took to Twitter to share that the New Shepard rocket's capsule escape system separated the capsule from the booster without any issues and that the booster had fallen back to Earth and had caused no injuries to personnel or crew. Monday's mission, called NS-23, is the fourth mission this year and the first launch that did not have any astronauts on board the spacecraft.

The rocket failure on Monday comes as a surprise to many, especially after Blue Origin's string of successes in launching rockets. In fact, the New Shepard rocket has not encountered any serious problems since it was first unveiled in April 2015. At the time, everything had gone as planned except for the booster landing.

Blue Origin's New Shephard rocket capsule system had previously flown 31 individuals under the company's suborbital space tourism business, which lets paying customers travel about 62 miles above the ground to experience a few minutes of microgravity before safely returning back to Earth.