Mastodawn

DoomsdaysCW 6d ago

Ooopsies! #BlueOrigin rocket explosion damages #NewGlenn launchpad in Florida

Everyone working in the area was “accounted for and safe" after the New Glenn explosion, according to Jeff Bezos.

By Emilee Speck, AccuWeather staff writer
Published May 29, 2026

https://www.accuweather.com/en/space-news/blue-origin-rocket-explosion-damages-new-glenn-launchpad-in-florida/1896121

#LowEarthOrbit #Megaconstellations
#RocketPollution #Grounded #AmazonSucks #TechBrosInSpace #SendTechBrosToMars

DoomsdaysCW 6d ago

BOOM! 💥 #BlueOrigin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida
By

Updated on: May 29, 2026

"A powerful New Glenn rocket owned by #JeffBezos' Blue Origin exploded in a spectacular fireball Thursday, sending billowing clouds of fire, smoke and flaming debris into the night sky in a tremendous conflagration visible for miles around.

"The explosion occurred around 9 p.m. EDT as engineers were counting down to a brief test firing of the New Glenn's seven methane-fueled BE-4 first stage engines at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin was gearing up for a June launch to put a batch of Amazon #Leo internet #satellites into orbit.

"As the engines appeared to begin firing, something clearly went wrong at the base of the rocket. The 188-foot-tall first stage became enveloped in a rapidly growing fire and moments later, the 86-foot-tall upper stage could be seen tilting and starting to fall as the first stage apparently began collapsing.

"Then the vehicle suddenly exploded as its load of #methane fuel and liquid oxygen ignited in a roiling fireball."

#LowEarthOrbit #Megaconstellations #RocketPollution #AmazonSucks #TechBrosInSpace #SendTechBrosToMars

Blue Origin New Glenn rocket explodes on launch pad in Florida

Blue Origin, which is owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, had successfully launched its third New Glenn Rocket last month.

DoomsdaysCW May 27

Analyst on #China’s spent rocket stages: “Things only continue to get worse”

Spent upper stages are the most dangerous kind of #SpaceDebris.

Eric Berger – May 26, 2026

"Further growth is anticipated from both the company’s state-owned enterprises as well as a rapidly expanding number of private launch companies. There is nothing wrong with this, as China’s rapid growth in launch has been mirrored by the United States and, in particular, SpaceX.

"However there is an issue with these launches, as China appears to be ignoring long-established norms about disposing of the upper stages of rockets. These are the parts of the vehicle that separate from the first stage of a rocket and push a satellite or spacecraft into orbit."

[...]

" 'China… continues to abandon many rocket bodies in high low-Earth orbit,' Shell wrote on LinkedIn early Monday. 'The total mass of orbital debris is a key variable influencing the long-term sustainment of space. There is broad agreement that abandoning rocket body upper stages in long-lived orbits is not a best practice. In fact, all the major space-faring nations have acknowledged this.' ”

#SpaceJunk #KesslerSyndrome #KesslerEffect #Megaconstellations #DarkSkies #SpacePollution #SpaceX #LowEarthOrbit

Analyst on China's spent rocket stages: "Things only continue to get worse"

Spent upper stages are the most dangerous kind of space debris.

Ars Technica

Mark McCaughrean May 27

Another nice morning 42km ride around Campanet before the heat built up too much.

Side note: took a swim at 11pm last night & watched endless Starjunk satellites cruise by on common orbits, often in pairs.

They weren’t faint – the owner of this house in the countryside has outdoor lights everywhere & I have no idea how to turn them off.

What ever happened to mitigating their brightness to at least below human threshold?

#Mallorca 🏝️
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#MegaConstellations 🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️🛰️

3i/Atlas May 26

Are Satellite Megaconstellations Accidentally Geoengineering the Earth?
https://atlas.whatip.xyz/post.php?slug=are-satellite-megaconstellations-accidentally-geoengineering-the-earth
<p>We’ve been reporting a lot lately on the negative impacts of satellite constellations
#megaconstellations #geoengineering #accidentally

Are Satellite Megaconstellations Accidentally Geoengineering the Earth?

We’ve been reporting a lot lately on the negative impacts of satellite constellations. And unfortunately it’s time for another article about a paper pointing out the potential hazards of them. This on...

3i/Atlas May 18

SpaceX Starlink and other satellite megaconstellations are creating an 'unregulated geoengineering experiment', scientists say
https://atlas.whatip.xyz/post.php?slug=spacex-starlink-and-other-satellite-megaconstellations-are-creating-an-unregulated-geoengineering-experiment-scientists-say
<p>The space industry's plans to launch millions of satellites worry scientists as the rise in
#megaconstellations #scientists #satellite #starlink

SpaceX Starlink and other satellite megaconstellations are creating an 'unregulated geoengineering experiment', scientists say

The space industry's plans to launch millions of satellites worry scientists as the rise in high-altitude air pollution threatens to alter Earth's climate.