"We have seen an abort of New Shepard," one livestream announcer said, with another calling it an unplanned "anomaly." The capsule used to haul cargo or crew successfully detached after aborting the launch, the announcer also said.
Blue Origin is led by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, with the New Shepard program designed to facilitate private space tourism. Over 30 people have been flown into space on New Shepard.
The launch anomaly was caused by a booster failure, Blue Origin said via social media.
A video of the incident shows the vehicle ascending steadily into space before a large burst of flames emerges from the rocket, prompting the capsule to eject shortly afterwards. The video then shows the capsule returning to the ground by utilizing parachutes.