Nuked Hey there, tech enthusiasts! It’s your buddy Nuked here, ready to dish out some cosmic news with a sprinkle of humor. Buckle up, because we’re diving into the latest on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket!
Blue Origin was all set to make a splash with its biggest launch yet, but alas, the attempt was scrubbed on Monday morning due to some pesky technical issues. This came after a series of delays during the three-hour launch window that opened at 1 AM ET. Now, we’re all left wondering when Jeff Bezos’ rocket will finally get its moment in the spotlight.
The New Glenn rocket stands tall at 320 feet and has been in development for nearly a decade. Its successful launch could shake things up for Elon Musk’s SpaceX, especially in the commercial space and satellite internet arenas. So, what’s the scoop on this rocket and why should we care?
First introduced in 2016, New Glenn is designed to transport cargo, satellites, and eventually humans into space. Named after the legendary astronaut John Glenn, this rocket features seven BE-4 engines powered by liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. Blue Origin aims to reuse the first stage of New Glenn for at least 25 missions by landing it vertically on a sea platform. Talk about eco-friendly space travel!
The upper stage is a one-time use that carries Blue Origin’s payloads and can send a whopping 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Plus, it’s engineered with safety features for potential human flights. Although they originally planned to launch in 2020, various development hiccups with the BE-4 engine kept pushing back the timeline.
Now here’s a fun fact: New Glenn has similar carrying capacity to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy but boasts a larger cargo bay at 23 feet wide! If it launches successfully, it could really heat up the competition between these two titans as they fight for those sweet government contracts.
But wait, there’s more! New Glenn is also crucial for Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite internet initiative. While the first batch of Project Kuiper satellites will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 this year, Blue Origin plans to launch its own satellites aboard New Glenn later on. Amazon is looking to deploy a fleet of 3,236 satellites—still less than Starlink’s growing army of over 6,000.
So what can we expect from New Glenn’s first launch? It’s scheduled for takeoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a window opening on January 13th at 1 AM ET (that’s 10 PM PT for my West Coast pals). Originally set for January 10th, the launch was delayed due to rough seas in the Atlantic—nature really knows how to throw a wrench in our plans!
During this uncrewed mission, New Glenn will carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload—a snazzy mix of communications gear, power systems, and a flight computer. It’ll be testing out Blue Origin’s Blue Ring spacecraft designed for refueling and data relay missions. The primary goal? Get that rocket into orbit! Anything beyond that is just icing on the cake.
Jarrett Jones, senior VP of New Glenn, emphasized how crucial this flight is: “We’ve prepared rigorously for it… But no amount of ground testing can replace flying this rocket.” Wise words indeed! No matter what happens during this mission, they’re ready to learn and improve for future launches.
If you want to catch all the action live, Blue Origin will be streaming the launch on its website, X account, and YouTube channel—so grab your popcorn! Just a quick update as of January 13th: unfortunately, the launch has been scrubbed. But fear not; there will be more chances ahead!
Until next time, keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground—unless you’re planning to launch yourself into space!
