We now possess a scheduled launch date for the inaugural mission of Blue Origin’s formidable New Glenn rocket.
If everything goes as planned, New Glenn is set to take flight for the first time on Friday (Jan. 10) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, during a three-hour opportunity that begins at 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT).
“This marks our initial flight, and we have prepared intensively for it,” stated Blue Origin’s Jarrett Jones, SVP of New Glenn, in a Monday evening (Jan. 6) announcement revealing the targeted launch date. “Yet, no quantity of ground testing or mission simulations can substitute for flying this rocket. It is time to embark on the journey. Regardless of the outcome, we will learn, enhance, and implement that understanding into our subsequent launch.”
Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon, Blue Origin has been working on the development of New Glenn for nearly ten years. The rocket, measuring 320 feet tall (98 meters), features a reusable first stage and has the capability to transport roughly 50 tons (45 metric tons) of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO).
In comparison, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, which is also partially reusable, can carry approximately 70 tons (64 metric tons) to LEO.
Blue Origin designates the upcoming inaugural mission as NG-1. New Glenn will transport a payload during the flight — a test version of the company’s “Blue Ring” spacecraft platform, intended to deliver customer payloads to various orbits, among other functions.
“The pathfinder will assess Blue Ring’s communication abilities from orbit to ground,” noted Blue Origin in a mission overview last month.
“Additionally, the mission will examine its in-space telemetry, tracking, and command equipment, alongside ground-based radiometric tracking that will be utilized on the future production version of the Blue Ring space vehicle,” the company further stated. “The pathfinder will remain aboard New Glenn’s second stage throughout the anticipated six-hour mission.”
NG-1 will also contribute to getting New Glenn certified for launching national security missions for the U.S. government, assuming everything proceeds as planned. Typically, new rockets must successfully complete two flights to be certified.
Blue Origin’s strategy for recovering New Glenn’s first stages involves landing the boosters on a vessel at sea, similar to the practices SpaceX employs with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets. A booster landing is expected to occur during NG-1, provided all goes according to plan.
“Our primary goal is to safely reach orbit,” Blue Origin noted in the statement released Monday. “We recognize that landing the booster on our first attempt offshore in the Atlantic is ambitious — but we are committed to making it happen.”