Blue Origin Successfully Launches New Glenn Rocket Despite Booster Landing Failure
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Synopsis
On January 16, Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket after multiple delays. Although the mission achieved orbit, the booster failed to land in the Atlantic. The New Glenn rocket is the largest ever built, named after astronaut John Glenn.
Key Takeaways
- Blue Origin successfully launched the New Glenn rocket.
- The inaugural mission is termed NG-1.
- Launch occurred at Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- The booster failed to land during reentry.
- Blue Origin aims for 10 launches this year.
New Delhi, Jan 16 (NationPress) After a series of delays, Blue Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, successfully launched the impressive New Glenn rocket on Thursday, although it was unable to land the booster in the Atlantic Ocean.
The inaugural mission, known as NG-1, took off from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, US, at 12:33 PM IST.
“LIFTOFF! New Glenn is beginning its first-ever ascent toward the stars,” the company announced via social media platform X.
“Second stage engine cutoff confirmed. The second stage of New Glenn and its payload are now in orbit. Another burn is on the way,” they added.
NG-1 marks Blue Origin’s first mission certified for National Security Space Launch. The primary objective of the mission was successfully achieved—reaching orbit.
“We did it! Orbital. Great night for Team Blue. On to spring and trying again on the landing,” shared Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, on X, along with a launch video.
Rival Elon Musk, CEO and founder of SpaceX, also congratulated Jeff Bezos on this achievement.
“Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt!” Musk tweeted on X.
However, the attempt to land the booster on a platform in the Atlantic—a significant offshore endeavor—was unsuccessful.
The booster was lost during its reentry into the atmosphere. “We lost the booster,” stated a Blue Origin spokesperson during the live broadcast. While New Glenn did not deploy any satellites this time, it was carrying a payload named Blue Ring Pathfinder, a test version of the new Blue Ring spacecraft platform.
“The pathfinder will validate Blue Ring’s communications capabilities from orbit to ground,” explained Blue Origin in a mission description last month.
With a height of 98 meters, equivalent to a 32-story building, New Glenn is the largest and most powerful rocket ever constructed and launched.
The rocket is named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, completing three orbits in 1962.
Initially aimed for a 2020 debut, the rocket encountered multiple delays.
Blue Origin aspires to conduct up to 10 New Glenn launches within this year.
