Space: Blue Origin launches its New Glenn rocket for the first time

98 meters high, the size of a building of approximately 30 floors, the New Glenn rocket, from the American space company Blue Origin, successfully took off around 02:03 local time (07:03 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral space base in Florida, despite weather conditions that were not optimal.

The maiden flight of this powerful rocket had been awaited for years and was postponed several times and even canceled at the last minute last Monday due to a technical problem. If the mission goes as planned, New Glenn is expected to reach orbit, which would be a first for the private space company founded in 2000. “Anything above that is a bonus“, David Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, has already said.

Although the company has already been taking tourists for a few minutes into space with its New Shepard rocket for several years, it has not yet carried out any orbital flights. With New Glenn, much more powerful, it aims to enter the market for launching commercial and military satellites into orbit, but also spaceships and astronauts.

And thus compete with SpaceX, which belongs to Elon Musk and which currently dominates the market with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. It is currently developing the largest rocket ever created, named Starship, which is due to carry out a seventh test flight on Friday, weather permitting, after a postponement on Wednesday.

During this inaugural mission, which should last six hours, Blue Origin intends to attempt to recover the first stage of its rocket, which propelled the whole thing. Like SpaceX’s Falcon 9, the New Glenn rocket is partly reusable, a specificity which not only reduces costs but also allows for a higher flight rate.

Blue Origin has already managed to land its New Shepard rocket on land in Texas. But this time, it intends to try a controlled landing of the first stage on a barge at sea – a delicate maneuver similar to those carried out by SpaceX. It is “ambitious“, recognized the CEO on X, “but we will try it. Either way, we will learn a lot».

The rocket will also carry a prototype of the Blue Ring multipurpose tug, a spacecraft intended to carry out operations in space and move satellites to their final orbits. Its technical functions will be tested during the mission, the company said.

If this launch is a success, other flights of the New Glenn should follow in 2025. Blue Origin has already signed contracts with several clients, including the American space agency for an unmanned mission to Mars, and the American government for national security missions. On the commercial side, it plans to deploy internet satellites for several companies.

It should also, like SpaceX with Starlink, be responsible for launching satellites from the Amazon group. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, the two richest men in the world, are also fighting in the field of satellite internet.