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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Set For Landmark Inaugural Launch

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is preparing for its inaugural launch, aiming to compete with SpaceX.

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is gearing up for the highly anticipated inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket from Florida early Monday morning, marking a critical milestone in its bid to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the satellite launch market. 

Standing an impressive 30 stories tall, the partially reusable New Glenn rocket is poised on the launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, scheduled for liftoff at 1:30 am ET (0630 GMT). Fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, the rocket represents the culmination of a decade-long, multi-billion-dollar development effort. 

A key feature of the mission is an ambitious attempt to recover the rocket’s first-stage booster, which will aim to land on a sea-based barge in the Atlantic Ocean just 10 minutes after launch. Meanwhile, the second stage will continue its journey toward orbit. 

“The thing we’re most nervous about is the booster landing,” Bezos shared in a pre-launch interview. “Clearly, on a first flight, you could have an anomaly at any mission phase, so anything could happen.” 

The payload for New Glenn’s maiden flight includes the first prototype of Blue Origin’s Blue Ring spacecraft, designed for national security and satellite servicing missions. If successful, the mission would achieve the rare feat of placing a spacecraft into its intended orbit on a rocket’s first flight. 

“Getting to orbit would be a great success,” Bezos said, adding, “Landing the booster would be icing on the cake.” 

The New Glenn rocket’s development journey has been marked by delays and challenges, spanning three Blue Origin CEOs as SpaceX solidified its dominance with the reusable Falcon 9 rocket. Bezos ramped up efforts in late 2023, prioritising New Glenn and its BE-4 engines. He also brought in Amazon veteran Dave Limp as CEO, a move employees say infused the company with urgency and focus. 

New Glenn, boasting more than twice the power of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, has already secured dozens of customer launch contracts collectively valued at billions of dollars. 

The stakes for Blue Origin’s inaugural launch are high, with success positioning the company as a formidable competitor in the space industry.

Frances Ibiefo

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