While Blue Origin investigates the root cause behind last night’s spectacular explosion of its New Glenn rocket, it’s already clear that this will be a major setback for NASA’s Moon base plans and Amazon’s fledgling Leo space internet constellation. The incident occurred at about 9PM at Blue Origin’s Florida launch site during a hot-fire test, where seven engines in the booster stage are lit while keeping the 322-foot-tall rocket fixed to the launchpad. The explosion and ensuing fireball severely damaged the only launchpad Blue Origin has for its New Glenn rocket. “It’s too early to know the root cause but we’re already working to find it,” wrote Blue Origin boss Jeff Bezos on X . “Very rough day, but we’ll rebuild whatever needs rebuilding and get back to flying. It’s worth it.” According to sources speaking to Ars Technica , the transporter-erector and one of the lightning towers at LC-36A may not be salvageable.…