Blue Origin rocket test explosion causes US aerospace concept stocks to plummet

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos's space exploration company Blue Origin, along with a "New Glenn" rocket, conducted a "hotfire test" at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, during which the rocket was fueled for ignition testing. Soon after, an explosion occurred, instantly turning into a massive fireball, and the launch pad was also destroyed.

"New Glenn" is a heavy-lift launch vehicle originally scheduled to launch 48 satellites into low Earth orbit on June 4th. This rocket has conducted three launch missions, the most recent in April of this year, when it carried the BlueBird-7 satellite for US-based AST SpaceMobile into space. However, the second stage experienced a malfunction, preventing the satellite from reaching orbit. NASA announced on Tuesday plans to establish a lunar base at the Moon's south pole. Blue Origin is also one of the companies responsible for building space equipment. This explosion may impact NASA's lunar exploration plans.

Following the incident, US aerospace concept stocks generally plummeted on Friday. Karman Holdings closed down 12.7%; Rocket Lab fell as much as 9.4% and still declined 3.1% at close; Voyager Technologies dropped 12.4% during the day and ended down 4.3%; Intuitive Machines fell as much as 15.2% and narrowed its decline to 4.1% at close; Redwire decreased as much as 16.3% and closed down 5.1%; AST SpaceMobile plunged 20.8% during the day and closed down 14.8%.

Virgin Galactic, on the other hand, surged against the trend, closing up 36.4% at $6.18.

Previously, since SpaceX filed for its initial public offering (IPO), stocks of rocket, aerospace, and satellite communication companies have experienced a continuous rally. The capital raised through SpaceX's IPO is expected to be the largest in history.