This article was originally published in English
The New Glenn rocket, named after the first American to orbit the Earth, took off from Florida.
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Blue Originthe company founded by Jeff Bezosthe boss of Amazon, launched his imposing new rocket for its first test flight on Thursday and sent a prototype satellite into orbit.
The nearly 100 meter long rocket carried an experimental platform designed to accommodate satellites or place them in their appropriate orbit.
The satellite was to remain inside the second stage as it orbited the Earth.
The mission was expected to last six hours, with the second stage then placed in a safe condition to remain in a high orbit, out of reach, in accordance with NASA practices to minimize space waste.
-The only downside was that the first stage missed its landing on a barge in the Atlantic a few minutes after takeoff in order to be reused, as does competitor SpaceX, but Blue Origin stressed that its main objective this Thursday was for the test satellite to reach its orbit, as this tweet explains.
“It’s a fantastic day ” said Ariane Cornell, launch commentator at Blue Origin.
New Glenn was scheduled to take off before dawn Monday, but ice buildup in critical pipes caused a slight delay.
The rocket is designed to carry spacecraft and eventually astronauts into orbit and to the Moon.
New Glenn is named after the famous astronaut John Glennthe first American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962, in a capsule called Friendship 7.
