Blue Origin's much-anticipated first launch of its New Glenn rocket was called off early this morning after a series of unexplained delays. The mission, humorously named “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” was aimed at safely reaching orbit, but that milestone will have to wait as the company troubleshoots a vehicle subsystem issue.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station Launch Complex-36. Credit: Blue Origin
The launch window for New Glenn-1 (NG-1) was scheduled between 1:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. ET at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Initially, a liftoff at 1:30 a.m. appeared likely as the company’s webcast began at 12:30 a.m. ET. However, the launch time was repeatedly pushed back, eventually targeting 3:15 a.m. ET. Moments before that deadline, the countdown clock disappeared, and Blue Origin announced the scrub.
“We are standing down today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will take us beyond our launch window,” said webcast commentator Ariane Cornell. No further information on the issue or the next launch attempt has been provided.
Aiming for Orbital Flight
Owned by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin has already made a name for itself with its suborbital New Shepard rocket, which carries passengers and payloads on brief trips past the edge of space. However, New Glenn represents a leap toward the company’s long-term goal of orbital and deep-space missions.
The towering New Glenn rocket, named after astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, stands 98 meters (321 feet) tall. It is capable of delivering 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit or 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit. The rocket is powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 and BE-3U engines, designed to be reusable and produced at facilities in Kent, WA, and Huntsville, AL.
The rocket’s reusable first stage, designed for up to 25 flights, will land on a barge in the Atlantic
Ocean, aptly named Jacklyn after Bezos’s mother.
Credit: Blue Origin
Delays and Challenges
New Glenn’s maiden launch has faced multiple delays since its announcement, reflecting the challenges of developing new heavy-lift rockets. Originally, NASA had planned to use New Glenn to send the ESCAPADE Mars mission as part of the Psyche asteroid mission in 2022. However, delays in both programs forced NASA to seek alternative arrangements.
For this initial test flight, the only payload is Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinder, which will remain attached to the rocket’s second stage. Once operational, Blue Ring is expected to support a variety of missions, offering services such as transportation, hosting multiple payloads, refueling, and even edge computing capabilities in space.
Competition Heats Up
Blue Origin’s New Glenn is positioned to compete with SpaceX and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) for lucrative government and commercial heavy-lift contracts. NG-1 is one of two certification launches required by the Department of Defense (DOD) before the rocket can be entrusted with high-value payloads.
Despite the setback, Blue Origin remains optimistic about New Glenn’s future. The company has compared the rocket to NASA’s historic Saturn V, illustrating its ambition to play a key role in the Artemis program and humanity’s return to the Moon.
For now, New Glenn’s journey to orbit remains on hold, with the space community eagerly awaiting news of the next launch attempt.
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