Why It Matters: The Blue Origin rocket, similar to that used to launch paid customers, unexpectedly crashed on its way towards space Monday, September 12. This was the first launch accident the company has experienced; other rockets are now grounded as the Federal Aviation Administration investigates.

• The rocket-capsule pair that crashed is typically dedicated to performing flying experiments. This was its ninth flight and its crash technology worked as anticipated. The mishap occurred around the point of maximum pressure as it was traveling almost 700 mph at an altitude of 28,000 feet (Associated Press).
• Blue Origin has taken 31 people to the edge of space on 11-minute flights since its official "launch" last year. It is owned by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.
• Something to Consider: "I don't think most space tourists are going to be paying much attention to this. The ones who are already ticket holders are probably already well versed in the dangers. I see this as a tiny blip that Blue Origin will get over, the whole suborbital commercial space industry will get over," Laura Forczyk, owner of the consulting firm Astralytical.

Bezos rocket crashes after liftoff, only experiments aboard (The Associated Press)

Bezos’ Rocket Crashes; No People Were Aboard (New York Times)