A rocket belonging to Jeff Bezos's aerospace company Blue Origin failed shortly after take-off on Monday, causing a flare mid-air before crash-landing in the remote Texan desert.
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No people were on board the flight, and the capsule carrying academic experiments and other items was ejected from the failing booster, parachuting safely to the ground.
The New Shepard Booster, a similar type of rocket used for the billionaire's space tourism flights, failed only one minute and four seconds after launch as it was reaching its maximum dynamic pressure.
The launch was New Shepard's 23rd mission, and it was planned to carry 36 experiments and other items from academia, research institutions, and students to the edge of space.
A video of the launch showed bright flames shooting out from the engine, and the capsule immediately separating from the booster.
During the live-stream, Blue Origin's senior director of emerging space markets Erika Wagner said the team had "experienced an anomaly".
"This was unplanned and we do not have any details yet, but our crew capsule was able to escape successfully," Ms Wagner said.
No one was injured and the escape system worked as designed, Blue Origin later stated on Twitter.
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"During today's flight, the capsule escape system successfully separated the capsule from the booster," the company said.
"The booster impacted the ground."
Blue Origin confirmed the launch was "a payload mission with no astronauts on board".
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos started Blue Origin in 2000, and the company has since pioneered 'space tourism', sending paying customers to the edge of space.
Rosie Bensley
Illawarra Mercury trainee journalist and newest recruit.
Illawarra Mercury trainee journalist and newest recruit.
