THE Blue Origin a rocket company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, achieved one of the biggest successes in its history in the early hours of this Thursday (16): send a rocket into Earth’s orbit.
THE New Glenn’s inaugural flight the company’s first rocket with enough power to launch satellites into space, took off shortly after 4 am, Brasília time (2 am local time), from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, in Florida.
The launch was broadcast live via Blue Origin’s profile on X, formerly Twitter, check out the video:
The NG-1 countdown clock is proceeding. The three-hour launch window opens at 1 am EST (0600 UTC).
Live webcast begins here 20 minutes before launch.https://t.co/wDtmxoDKRs
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) January 16, 2025
The demonstration technology aboard the rocket, called Blue Ring Pathfinder, was safely transported to orbit — making the mission a success. However, Blue Origin did not achieve the bonus goal of guiding part of the New Glenn rocket, called the first stage booster, back to a safe landing on an offshore platform after liftoff.
This maneuver, designed to allow Blue Origin to refurbish and reuse rocket boosters — just as SpaceX does with its Falcon rockets — aims to save money and reduce the cost of launches.
Long-awaited launch
When the countdown reached zero, New Glenn ignited its seven engines and lifted off from the launch pad. The first stage, or lower part of the rocket, fired its engines for more than three minutes before separating from the upper part of New Glenn. The first-stage booster attempted to guide itself back to a precise landing aboard the Jacklyn, an offshore platform Bezos named after his mother.
But just as the booster was about to reignite its engines for landing, the rocket’s live data cut out and hosts on the Blue Origin broadcast were left guessing what could have happened. The presenters later confirmed that the thruster had been lost.
The recovery maneuver was an attempt to replicate what Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been doing with its rockets for a decade. SpaceX, which now routinely lands its Falcon 9 rocket boosters on platforms on land and at sea, tried and failed four times to accomplish the task when it first developed the maneuver in the mid-2010s.
The rest of New Glenn’s inaugural launch appeared to go off without a hitch. The entire mission should last around six hours, ending around 8am (local time). After separating from the first stage, the upper part of the New Glenn rocket, carrying experimental Blue Ring technology, fired its own engine and continued to propel itself toward orbit.
After reaching space, the rocket released its hood, a shell-like structure designed to protect satellites during launch. And the second stage continued firing its engines until it reached orbital speeds — which are typically more than 27,359 kilometers per hour, more than 22 times the speed of sound.
The exposed Blue Ring demonstrator is expected to remain attached to New Glenn’s upper stage throughout the mission, rather than separating from the rocket as a satellite normally would.
The future of New Glenn
New Glenn’s triumphant demonstration could set the rocket up for an exciting year. NASA intends to use the vehicle to launch two orbiters to Mars.
Blue Origin also has several commercial missions on its manifesto, including plans to help deploy Amazon’s internet satellite constellation and launch space-based cellular broadband satellites for AST SpaceMobile.
The Blue Ring demonstrator that Blue Origin is flying on this mission is also a precursor to a vehicle that the company hopes will one day serve as a kind of Uber race in space, taking satellites further into space when needed.
“Blue Ring addresses two of the most difficult challenges in space exploration today: the growth of space infrastructure and the need for greater mobility in space,” according to the Blue Origin website. “The spacecraft’s ability to maneuver to multiple orbits and locations, deploy and host payloads, and perform onboard computing and communications will enable revolutionary missions for a variety of customers.”
Blue Origin expects Blue Ring vehicles to be capable of carrying massive satellites, weighing up to around 3,000 kilograms. The Blue Ring spacecraft that launched on Thursday is also part of a deal that Blue Origin struck with the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit.
This content was originally published in Blue Origin launches giant New Glenn rocket for the 1st time; see video on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
