From Akash Sriram

NEW YORK, May 30 (Reuters) - Blue Origin and the space science industry sources said the company faces a setback that could last for months after a rocket explosion damaged its launch pad, potentially delaying Amazon's satellite launches and strengthening SpaceX's dominance in the commercial satellite launch market.

The explosion occurred during a test run of the New Glenn rocket's engines in preparation for its launch next week, and it comes at a critical time for Jeff Bezos's business empire, whose companies Blue Origin and Amazon are seeking to establish themselves as strong competitors in the global satellite internet sector against Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Thursday's explosion may cast a shadow over NASA's ambitions to land on the moon.

A source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said that Blue Origin's booster rocket (No, it's essential) was damaged in the incident, which also left the launch pad almost completely destroyed. He added that engineers expect operations to be suspended for six months, if not longer. The booster rocket's name is taken from a phrase in the film "Interstellar."

Antoine Grenier, partner and head of space consulting at Analysis Mason, stated, "It's only been a year since SpaceX's Starship exploded on the launch pad, and Blue Origin can also recover, but rebuilding will take months."

Amazon's Project Leo to provide faster internet around the world relied on the rapid launch pace of the New Glenn rocket to deploy half of Amazon's more than 3,200 broadband internet satellites by July 2026, meeting regulatory approval deadlines.

The rocket was also scheduled to launch Blue Origin's first Blue Moon lunar lander later this year. Days earlier, NASA awarded the company a contract to deliver two lunar vehicles ahead of the planned Artemis 4 mission in 2028.

NASA announced on Thursday that it will assess the near-term impact of the Blue Origin rocket explosion on the Artemis and Lunar Base programs, although it remains unclear whether any adjustments will be needed to either mission.

It is not yet clear how this incident will affect Blue Origin's long-term prospects and whether it will boost SpaceX's gains, whose order book is full of deployments of its own Starlink satellites, as well as commercial and government missions.

The U.S. Space Force and the National Reconnaissance Office, a U.S. defense intelligence agency, said Friday that they remain committed to their agreement with Blue Origin and are standing by a national security-related launch contract awarded Thursday despite the catastrophic explosion of the New Glenn rocket launch pad a few hours later.