Blue Origin is investigating an explosion of its BE-4 rocket engine, which is known as the “most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled rocket engine ever developed.” The engine is being developed for United Launch Alliance (ULA) and is also intended to power Blue Origin’s New Glenn reusable launch vehicle. Blue Origin has been working on the BE-4 engine since 2011, but it wasn’t until 2014 that the company signed a deal with ULA.

Since then, Blue Origin has faced setbacks, including multiple powerpack failures, which have delayed the development and deployment timelines. It was only in October 2022 that Blue Origin announced the delivery of two BE-4 engines to ULA for the first flight of the Vulcan rocket. The launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn, which competes with SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, has been repeatedly delayed to accommodate the BE-4 development delays.

The original schedule for New Glenn’s first flight was in 2021, but it was pushed to the fourth quarter of 2022. However, the launch did not happen during that time. Blue Origin’s senior commerce executive, Ariane Cornell, has stated that New Glenn will be ready for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars in 2024.