Watch video: Blue Origin experiences 'anomaly' during New Shephard uncrewed space flight in Texas
Blue Origin's uncrewed space flight – carrying 36 payloads, including students' school experiments – aborted its Monday flight shortly after launch in Texas due to an "anomaly."
Video showed the rocket launch for about a minute, followed by a large flame, and then the separation of the human capsule from the remainder of the rocket – an emergency safety mechanism, according to Blue Origin's livestream broadcast. The capsule then descended with the help of emergency parachutes back to the ground.
To be clear, no humans were aboard this mission. The capsule hosted various student experiments, including one from a Florida school.
It was not immediately clear what the issue was.
Blue Origin rocket launch aborted after experiencing 'anomaly'
The Blue Origin rocket launch was aborted Monday morning after experiencing an "anomaly" during flight. Officials said the rocket was carrying 24 payloads of student projects from K-12 schools, universities, and STEM-focused organizations, including NeoCity Academy in Osceola County.
"We’re responding to an issue this morning at our Launch Site One location in West Texas. More information to come as it is available," Blue Origin said in a tweet shortly following the aborted mission. In an updated tweet, Blue Origin said the "capsule escape system functioned as designed. More information to come as it is available."
Monday's mission was held a few times – and slightly delayed – before being able to launch.
According to Blue Origin, the New Shephard mission is a "reusable suborbital rocket system designed to take astronauts and research payloads past the Kármán line – the internationally recognized boundary of space." The human capsule has the capacity to hold up to six astronauts.