CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket exploded on the launch pad during a test on Thursday night.

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The rocket was undergoing an engine-firing test before a satellite launch scheduled for next week, The Associated Press reported.

The test consisted of firing the seven engines in the booster, but with the rocket still on the ground, The New York Times reported.

Officials at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station said no one was hurt in the blast.

Jeff Bezos said on X, “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it. Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.”

He also pledged to rebuild.

Elon Musk, owner of SpaceX, responded to Bezos’ post, writing “Ad astra per aspera,” or “To the stars through hardships."

The Times said the launchpad and equipment were damaged in the blast, with repairs expected to take months.

NASA administrator Jared Isaacman wrote on X, “Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult. We will work with our partners to support a thorough investigation of this anomaly, assess near-term mission impacts, and get back to launching rockets.”

The New Glenn rocket was grounded last month after an engine failure put a satellite into the wrong orbit.

[ From WFTV: What we know about Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket ]

Thursday’s launch was only the third flight for the New Glenn, which Blue Origin plans to use to take landers to the Moon for NASA, which will take astronauts to the lunar surface, the AP reported. A prototype lunar lander was expected to be launched this fall.

The rocket was scheduled to launch next week on a mission to deploy internet satellites as part of the Amazon Leo, or “low-Earth orbit,” program.

Both Blue Origin and SpaceX have contracts with NASA for the lunar program, the Times reported.

The blast from the explosion shook houses in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach, with people reaching out on social media to find out what happened.

“Initially? It was just where I could just see the sky. It looked like it went to daylight with just multi colors everywhere, and then I could just see the ball of fire,” Kelly Stutts said, according to WFTV. “It just went up into flames, and then it went like, like horizontally, like farther out, and as if it was on several of the launch pads.”

Officials are warning the public about hazardous debris that may wash ashore in the coming days, WFTV reported.

People are being advised not to touch any debris they may come across and to call 911 to report it.

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