Blue Origin's Moon Rocket Explodes – US Media Fears America Falling Behind China in Moon Race

Blue Origin, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos, suffered a violent explosion during a "hot-fire test" of its New Glenn rocket on the evening of 28 May. The blast severely damaged both the rocket and the launch facility. Blue Origin is one of NASA's partners in its lunar program, and the incident threatens to further delay America's return to the Moon — handing China a strategic advantage in the space race.

Blue Origin rocket test ends in massive explosion. AP Photo

Enormous Blast Devastates Rocket and Launch Pad

The explosion tore through Kennedy Space Center in Florida on the evening of the 28th, as Blue Origin was conducting a routine pre-launch hot-fire test of the New Glenn rocket. The rocket detonated in a massive fireball. Local residents reported seeing the blaze from considerable distance, with the blast heard some 24 kilometers away — the scene likened to a "mini nuclear bomb."  

Kennedy Space Center, Florida. AP Photo

The New Glenn rocket had previously completed three successful flights and was scheduled for its fourth mission next month. The explosion appears to have completely destroyed the rocket. Blue Origin's launch facility — which cost $1 billion to build — will likely require extensive repairs. The company is currently investigating the cause of the accident but has yet to clarify the specific impact on its rocket program.

Aerospace analysts believe the explosion will set Blue Origin's development timeline back by at least a year. Space journalist Eric Berger put it bluntly: "This completely takes Blue Origin out of the Artemis picture for the next 12 months, most likely. All of those Moon Base missions, man, it’s bad."

NASA's Moon Program May Become Entirely Reliant on SpaceX

With Blue Origin's rocket program suffering a catastrophic blow, NASA's Artemis lunar program may now become wholly dependent on SpaceX's Starship. The reality is that Starship itself remains far from fully validated, with development facing enormous challenges of its own.

Just last week, Starship's Super Heavy booster malfunctioned and tumbled into the Gulf of Mexico during a test flight. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered SpaceX on the 27th to investigate the cause. SpaceX must now suspend all subsequent Starship test flights pending approval of the investigation's findings. Both of NASA's primary Artemis partners have their rocket programs on hold simultaneously.

The New Glenn rocket stands 98 meters tall and features a reusable first stage, designed to compete with SpaceX's Falcon family of rockets and Starship. It is a key component of NASA's Artemis architecture. Just two days before the accident — on 26 May — NASA had awarded Blue Origin a $188 million contract to carry out the "Lunar Base 1" mission, delivering the company's lunar lander to the Moon's surface.

Former Administrator Warned: America Highly Likely to Fall Behind China

Repeated setbacks in the development of rockets and lunar landers have pushed America's crewed Moon landing mission back time and again. The latest timeline now stands at 2028.

In September last year, Jim Bridenstine — who served as NASA Administrator from 2018 to 2021 — issued a stark warning before a US Senate hearing. "Unless something changes, it is highly unlikely the United States will beat China’s projected timeline to the Moon’s surface. Our complicated architecture requires a dozen or more launches in a short time frame, relies on very challenging technologies that have yet to be developed like cryogenic in-space refueling, and still needs to be human rated."

Current NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman acknowledged that the New Glenn explosion could affect the Artemis program but stressed that a detailed review would be needed. "Spaceflight is unforgiving, and developing new heavy-lift launch capability is extraordinarily difficult," he said. "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."

Meanwhile, China's Crewed Lunar Program Advances on Schedule

On 24 May, the Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft launched successfully. The spacecraft and space station combination completed their rendezvous and docking. The astronaut crew — which includes Hong Kong's first payload specialist, Lai Ka-ying — successfully entered the Tiangong space station, completing the 8th "space rendezvous" in Chinese spaceflight history.

Shenzhou-23 crewed spacecraft launches successfully. Screenshot from CCTV

On the evening of 29 May, the Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew successfully landed aboard the Shenzhou-22 crewed spacecraft at the Dongfeng landing site, marking a safe return. The three astronauts had entered China's space station on 1 November 2025 and spent 210 days in orbit. Their mission sets a new Chinese record for the longest single-crew stay aboard the station.

Shenzhou-23 astronaut crew successfully enters Tiangong. Screenshot from CCTV

Shenzhou-21 astronaut crew makes a safe return. Screenshot from CCTV

China plans to carry out a crewed lunar landing before 2030 and is making steady progress with no signs of any delay.

Deep Throat

** 博客文章文責自負,不代表本公司立場 **

A 24-year-old "dark history" clip of Prime Minister Takaichi has resurfaced on Japanese social media. In it, she comments on Japan's war against China, and the footage has quickly drawn renewed attention.

Renowned political commentator and TV host Soichiro Tahara interviewed Takaichi on a 2002 news program. He pressed her on her support for right-wing politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine.

When asked whether Japan's invasion of China was a war of self-preservation and self-defense, Takaichi said she believed it was. Tahara immediately denounced her on air as ignorant and naive.

Resurfaced 2002 clip shows host branding Takaichi ignorant over China war denial.

The On-Air Clash

According to Japanese media, the clip originated from "Sunday Project," an Asahi TV program broadcast on August 18, 2002. Tahara hosted the segment. He questioned guests about right-wing politicians visiting Yasukuni Shrine, which enshrines 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II.

Takaichi supported such visits at the time. So Tahara asked how she viewed Japan's invasion of China. He asked whether she considered Japan's war to have been a war of self-preservation and self-defense. Takaichi said she believed it was. Her response immediately drew Tahara's resentment.

On air, Takaichi said Japan's invasion of China was self-preservation and self-defense.

Tahara raised his voice in response. This was no joke. The Manchurian Incident, he said, was instigated by the Japanese military, specifically the Kwantung Army. They fabricated the whole thing. That was clearly a war of aggression.

As Takaichi tried to respond, Tahara pressed on. He noted that even former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone had called the Manchurian Incident strange. Then he asked why Japan would invade Manchuria in the name of self-defense and establish a puppet state there.

Takaichi insisted that colonizing other countries was a widely accepted international norm at the time. Other nations were doing the same, she argued, so Japan's actions should not be considered aggression.

Takaichi claimed colonizing others was then normal, so Japan did not commit act of aggression.

Tahara rebutted her directly with historical evidence. He said the fact that she called this act of aggression self-preservation and self-defense only showed her ignorance. It was truly alarming, he added, that a member of parliament held such an ignorant view of history.

Tahara told Takaichi a lawmaker with such ignorant history views was deeply troubling.

Still, Takaichi pushed back. At the very least, she said, she believed it was a war fought for security. Tahara shot back sharply. That naïve view, he said, was simply laughable.

Neither the host nor the media could have imagined it at the time. A politician who distorted history and denied Japan's wartime crimes would, more than two decades later, become the country's prime minister.

The clip has reignited public debate, and Tahara responded to it directly. On July 26, he updated his account on X and expressed his wish to have a dialogue with Takaichi.

Right-Wing Echoes, Real-World Risk

According to Global Times' new media outlet, this 2002 video resurfaces every few years, sparking fresh rounds of controversy. What stands out this time, the report says, is how voices defending Takaichi's historical distortions are spreading.

Right-wing forces on the fringes of Japanese society are amplifying these voices through the internet and social media, wrongly influencing a growing number of Japanese people.

Online right-wing rhetoric is one problem, but the report argues something else matters more. Far more consequential is the new-style militarism Takaichi has pursued since taking office, marked by accelerated military expansion.

This is precisely why neighboring countries, including China, remain especially wary of Japan under her leadership.

Why Japan Never Faced Its Past

Citing historical analysis from authoritative mainland media, the report states that Japanese society has long been plagued by distortions of its history of aggression. Wartime crimes have been whitewashed for decades, and many far-right figures have now risen to political power. Japan, unlike Germany, never fully confronted the ideological roots of its militarism after World War II.

As the Cold War took shape, the United States substantially revised its Japan policy out of bloc-confrontation considerations. It halted mid-way efforts to purge militarist forces, and many war criminals were treated leniently and allowed to return to politics.

This, the report suggests, is the key reason for the stark contrast between the two defeated powers. Germany thoroughly reckoned with Nazi crimes and reflected deeply on the war, while Japan has long evaded its history of aggression and refused to sincerely atone for it.