Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is ready for liftoff. After some weather-related delays over the weekend, the space company owned by Jeff Bezos said its $2.5 billion reusable rocket, which has been in development for nearly 13 years, will target its first launch no later than Monday, January 13. . The time run window begins at 1:00 AM ET. The webcast will begin one hour before launch, and you can watch New Glenn in flight on Blue Origin’s website, X or the company’s YouTube channel.
New Glenn’s first mission (NG-1) will be the first Space Force national security certification flight required to compete with SpaceX for Department of Defense and national intelligence contracts. The reusable first stage is designed for at least 25 flights. Blue Origin has several New Glenn vehicles in production.
Blue Origin describes New Glenn as “a massive, reusable rocket built for bigger things.” The “huge” part is appropriate. The rocket is over 98 meters (320 feet) tall. When it comes to “bigger things,” that includes the metaphorical (like a potential mission to Mars) and the literal. It can carry more than 45 tons to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and 13 tons to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). By comparison, rival SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy can lift nearly 64 tons into LEO and nearly 27 tons into GTO orbit.
New Glenn will carry a prototype of the company’s multipurpose Blue Ring Pathfinder on its maiden voyage. The spacecraft is designed to transport, refuel and host satellites and other spacecraft and can carry three tons of cargo into space. Friday’s launch will test Blue Ring’s core flight/ground systems and operational capabilities.
After New Glenn lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, the reusable first stage will land aboard the floating barge “Jacklyn” hundreds of miles in the Atlantic Ocean.
New Glenn, named for pioneering astronaut John Glenn, completed its first launch countdown dress rehearsal on December 27. After several countdown attempts over several hours, the rocket’s seven BE-4 engines ignited and launched for 24 seconds (13 seconds at 100 percent). momentum), paving the way for Friday’s target launch. The rocket’s first flight was originally scheduled for October carrying two NASA satellites bound for Mars, but the launch was canceled because it was not ready by then.
