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Update: January 16, 7:56 a.m. ET: Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket blasted off this morning at 2:03 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. For the first time ever, a Jeff Bezos-built rocket has reached Earth orbit (the company’s New Shepard rocket, used for space tourism purposes, is suborbital); the New Glenn second stage reached its target orbit following a pair of successful burns of the BE-3U engines.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 16, 2025
Its payload, the Blue Ring Pathfinder, “is receiving data and performing well,” according to an emailed Blue Origin statement. The booster, on the other hand, was lost “during descent,” the company said, meaning it failed to perform a soft, controlled landing on the ocean-based platform. Regardless, it’s an extremely positive result for the company, with New Glenn finally making a mark in the increasingly competitive spaceflight industry.
Update: January 14, 10:44 a.m. ET: Blue Origin is now targeting a three-hour launch window that opens at 1:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, January 16. They’ll eventually get this thing off the ground. We hope.
Update: January 11, 7:12 p.m. ET: Yet another delay. “Sea state conditions are still unfavorable for booster landing,” Blue Origin explained in a tweet. “We’re shifting our NG-1 launch date by one day to no earlier than January 13. Our three-hour window remains the same, opening Monday at 1 a.m. EST (0600 UTC).”
Update: January 10, 3:38 p.m. ET: All signs point to a launch during the early hours of Sunday morning, with the three-hour launch window opening at 1:00 a.m. ET on Sunday, January 12 at 1:00 a.m. ET.
Update: January 9, 1:20 p.m. ET: The inaugural launch of New Glenn has been delayed to no earlier than Sunday, January 12, with a launch window that opens at 1 a.m. ET, due to unfavorable weather expected at the ocean-based landing barge.
Original article follows.
Blue Origin’s highly-anticipated New Glenn rocket is gearing up for its big debut. If all goes well with the rocket’s inaugural flight, it could pose some competition for industry favorite SpaceX.
New Glenn is scheduled for liftoff during a three-hour launch window that opens on Friday, January 10 at 1 a.m. ET. The rocket will launch from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. A livestream of the launch will begin around an hour before liftoff on Blue Origin’s website. Third party provider NASASpaceflight is also livestreaming the launch, which you can watch below.
Blue Origin, founded by the second richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, first announced its $2.5 billion New Glenn rocket nearly 10 years ago. The 320-foot-tall (98 meters) rocket is designed to lift 45 tons to low Earth orbit and 13 tons to Geostationary orbit.
New Glenn is partially reusable, with its first stage designed to last for 25 missions and powered by seven methane-burning BE-4 engines. By comparison, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is a partially reusable, heavy-lift rocket capable of carrying 63 metric tons to low Earth orbit and 26 metric tons to geostationary orbit. Both Falcon Heavy’s side boosters and New Glenn’s first stage are designed to return to Earth for controlled landings on floating platforms at sea.
For its first mission, the heavy-lift launch vehicle will carry Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinder, an orbital platform that’s been referred to as a “space truck.” Blue Ring’s first flight will test its ground systems and operational capabilities as part of the DarkSky-1 (DS-1) mission, which is sponsored by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, according to Blue Origin.
“We’re excited to demonstrate Blue Ring’s advanced in-space operations on New Glenn’s inaugural mission,” Paul Ebertz, senior vice president of Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems, said in a statement. “Blue Ring plays a critical role in building a road to space, and this mission is an important first step for Blue Ring and enabling dynamic and responsive operations that will greatly benefit our nation.”
Blue Ring Pathfinder integrated. Jacklyn well underway. Launch license received. Here we go! https://t.co/CCOY8GEks8 pic.twitter.com/hjAL8Dmu3q
— Dave Limp (@davill) January 7, 2025
The main objective of New Glenn’s maiden flight is to reach orbit on its first try. Blue Origin will also attempt to land its booster offshore in the Atlantic Ocean, but the booster’s name, “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” suggests that the company is hopeful but perhaps not fully expecting its first attempt to be a success. This is also New Glenn’s first National Security Space Launch certification flight, which could pave the way for the rocket to carry national security payloads on future missions.
Bezos’ big rocket debut could fuel his rivalry with his rocket billionaire nemesis, SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Blue Origin’s current rocket, New Shepard, is mainly used to launch space tourists on suborbital flights to the edge of space. New Glenn, on the other hand, would officially put Blue Origin on the map when it comes to the orbital payload business.
SpaceX has had a largely significant head start, making it the industry favorite. Whether Blue Origin can catch up or not is yet to be seen, but there is a lot riding on New Glenn’s first time soaring toward the skies.
