Blue Origin, founded by Jeff Bezos, has achieved a major milestone by successfully landing the booster of its New Glenn mega-rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean on its second attempt. This accomplishment puts Blue Origin in the company of Elon Musk’s SpaceX, making it the second company to achieve such a feat. The successful landing of the booster will make the New Glenn rocket system a viable option for sending larger payloads to space, the Moon, and beyond.
The recent launch was not only about the landing attempt, but also about deploying the rocket’s first commercial payload. Approximately 34 minutes after takeoff, the upper stage of New Glenn successfully deployed twin spacecraft for NASA, which will travel to Mars to study the red planet’s atmosphere. These achievements are remarkable for only the second launch of such a massive rocket system and position Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX in the global launch market.
Blue Origin’s first launch of New Glenn took place in January, with the second launch experiencing several delays. Despite setbacks, the rocket finally took off from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday. The New Glenn booster successfully touched down on the platform after separating from the second stage and heading back towards Earth.
The ability to land and refurbish the booster is crucial for making the rocket system reusable, ultimately lowering costs for customers. Blue Origin will now need to demonstrate its ability to refurbish the booster and launch it again, a capability that SpaceX has already mastered. These capabilities are essential for both commercial customers and government missions, especially as Blue Origin and SpaceX compete in developing lunar landers for NASA’s Moon missions.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp has expressed commitment to supporting NASA’s efforts to return to the Moon faster and emphasized the importance of proving New Glenn’s capabilities. Thursday’s successful launch marks a significant step towards achieving this goal and solidifying Blue Origin’s position in the space industry.
