In a setback for private spaceflight, an unmanned spaceship funded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos went out of control and was destroyed during a test flight. The ship, developed by Blue Origin LLC, was in suborbital flight when it suffered a flight instability, according to a note signed by Bezos. The thrusters automatically shut off, leading to the ship's destruction. Blue Origin has been secretive about their plans for the vessel, but the company has said it aimed to launch manned flights as early as 2012. Blue Origin has received $25 million from NASA in an attempt to help private companies take over human spaceflight after the retiring of the shuttle program this July.
