First New Glenn rocket reaches orbit | Wilnesh News

Blue Origin launched its towering New Glenn rocket for the first time on Thursday, a major milestone for Jeff Bezos’ space company.

New Glenn roared out of its launch pad in Florida in the early hours of the morning, reaching space and eventually entering orbit as part of its long-awaited first mission. Blue Origin also attempted to land the rocket’s booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, but the booster was lost during reentry.

This launch is a defining moment for Blue Origin.

Although Bezos’ company was founded 25 years ago, it has yet to begin orbiting — its smaller New Shepard rocket is intended only for short trips to the edge of space for people and research. New Glenn’s flight marks Blue Origin’s entry into a market dominated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and is critical to realizing the billionaire founder’s broader ambitions.

No one was aboard the New Glenn flight, which carried a small test payload into space. The rocket was named in honor of the late John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.

Initially, the company aims to fly NASA’s daring feat of “ESCAPADE” New Glenn’s first mission to Mars. But as the launch window shortened, the agency postponed ESCAPADE to a later launch time. Blue Origin also has orders AmazonProject Kuiper has launched at least 12 Internet satellites and plans to launch a Blue Moon moon and an Orbital Reef space station. Bezos founded Amazon six years before founding Blue Origin.

Headquartered in Kent, Washington, a suburb of Seattle, Blue Origin has more than 10,000 employees in the region and six other key locations across the country, including industry heavyweights such as Texas, Florida and Alabama. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp previously told CNBC that Blue Origin has “been in the R&D phase for a long time,” an aspect of the company’s culture he’s trying to change.

Blue plans to rapidly expand the cadence of New Glenn missions, hoping to conduct as many as 10 New Glenn missions this year. The rocket was originally slated to debut in 2020, but faced years of delays.

Minutes after launch, the rocket’s boosters separate and return through the atmosphere. The booster – nicknamed So You Told Me There was a Chance – attempted but failed to land on the company’s barge Jacklyn, about 600 miles off the Atlantic coast. Blue Origin’s webcast ended with the booster at an altitude of about 84,000 feet.

While New Glenn did not deploy any satellites in orbit during the flight, it carried a small demonstration version of the company’s Blue Ring spacecraft. Known in the industry as an orbital transport vehicle (OTV) or space tug, the Blue Ring is designed to carry satellites and spacecraft, transporting them from rockets to their intended targets.

As is typical with an orbital rocket’s debut, New Glenn’s launch encountered some bumps, with a multi-day delay due to technical issues with the rocket and weather.

So far among the industry bets on orbital missions, Blue Origin has not entered the serious rocket game, as the U.S. launch market is still dominated by SpaceX, followed by rocket labUnited Launch Alliance and Firefly Aerospace.

Jeff, welcome to the club.