The takeoff of the New Glenn rocket, developed by the company Blue Origin, marks an important step in private space exploration. On January 16, this heavy-duty launcher made its very first flight from the Cape Canaveral Space Station in Florida. Although the primary mission was successful (reaching orbit), the attempt to land the first stage on an offshore platform was unsuccessful.
A historic launch for Blue Origin
As soon as it takes off at 2:03 a.m. EST (07:03 GMT), the rocket New Glenn has captured the attention of specialists and enthusiasts. Designed to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launchers, this reusable rocket 98 meters tall will be capable of carrying up to 50 tonnes of payload into low Earth orbit.
During this first test flight called NG-1the upper stage reached orbit in 12 minutes and 30 seconds, thus fulfilling the primary objective of the mission. This achievement is the result of several years of hard work and many delays. Originally planned for 2020, New Glenn’s first flight has been postponed several times due to technical problems, notably in the development of the BE-4 engines and, more recently, unfavorable weather conditions.
A semi-successful landing for the New Glenn rocket
Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin, congratulated on X by Elon Musk, had set an ambitious secondary objective for this flight: recover the first stage of the rocket by landing it on an offshore platform nicknamed Jacklyn in tribute to the mother of the company’s founder, Jeff Bezos.
Despite a series of precise maneuvers, including a re-entry combustion with three engines, the propeller failed to land on the platform. « We didn’t manage to land the thruster, but damn, we came close said Ariane Cornell, vice president of space systems at Blue Origin.
-This relative failure was anticipated: the company had warned that it was a learning stage. Of the valuable data collected during the flight will improve future recovery attempts.
A launcher built for competition
With New Glenn, Blue Origin intends to attract a wide range of customers ranging from NASA to government agencies and private companies. The rocket has already been selected for several prestigious missions, including the launch of the project’s Internet satellites Kuiper of Amazon which aims to compete with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation.
In addition to its impressive load capacity, New Glenn stands out for its reusable design which allows up to 25 flights per propeller. This approach, initiated by SpaceX, reduces costs and increases the frequency of missions, a major advantage in an increasingly competitive sector.
