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The rocket company Blue Origin, owned by US billionaire Jeff Bezos had to abort a space mission mid-flight, after it malfunctioned.

The New Shepard rocket's booster system failed around one minute after leaving the launch pad in Texas, in the US on Monday.

There were no people on board the capsule attached to the rocket this time, instead the capsule was full of zero-gravity research experiments.

A safety feature on the spacecraft meant that the capsule was able to detach itself from the rocket, and safely return to Earth using parachutes.

The malfunction took place around 8.5km above ground, travelling at a speed of around 700mph.

Dr Erika Wagner, a senior director at the Blue Origin space company, was doing the in-flight commentary online.

"It appears that we've experienced an anomaly with today's flight," she said. "This wasn't planned and we don't have any details yet."

The Federal Aviation Administration - which gives official permission and licenses to commercial spaceflight in the US - said it would be investigating what happened.

"Before the New Shepard vehicle can return to flight, the FAA will determine whether any system, process or procedure related to the mishap affected public safety. This is standard practice for all mishap investigations," its statement read.

This was the 23rd mission of New Shepard since it was first introduced in 2015.

Blue Origin is a commercial space company owned by Jeff Bezos, a US billionaire who owns Amazon.