Jeff Bezos' space company will try again to launch its new rocket as early as Thursday after calling off the debut launch because of ice buildup in critical plumbing.
Why It Matters
New Glenn's debut will pose a notable challenge to Elon Musk's SpaceX dominance in the reusable rocket market.
What To Know
Blue Origin said that the 320-foot New Glenn rocket was scheduled to launch early Monday with a prototype satellite aboard.
However, ice accumulated in a purge line for a unit powering some of the rocket's hydraulic systems, and launch controllers ran out of time to resolve the issue, the company explained.
The test flight had already been delayed due to rough seas, which posed a risk to Blue Origin's plan to land the rocket's first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
The launch was further postponed because of poor weather forecast for Cape Canaveral on Tuesday and a SpaceX moon mission scheduled for Wednesday.
The goal of the mission is to land New Glenn's first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic about 10 minutes after liftoff, while the rocket's second stage continues toward orbit.
Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth in 1962, New Glenn has faced a challenging development process with multiple delays.
The rocket is five times taller than Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket, which flies paying customers to the edge of space from Texas.
Company founder Jeff Bezos, who established Blue Origin 25 years ago, participated in Monday's countdown from Mission Control, located at the rocket factory just outside NASA's Kennedy Space Center.
How Does New Glenn compare to Musk's Rocket?
The New Glenn rocket dwarfs SpaceX's Falcon 9, standing 320 feet tall compared to Falcon 9's 230 feet. It also boasts a higher payload capacity, capable of lifting up to 45 tons into space, nearly double Falcon 9's 23-ton capacity.
The New Glenn rocket is designed for a minimum of 25 missions, marginally more than Falcon 9's 24-mission reuse rate.
With hundreds of launches under its belt already, Falcon 9's reliability, proven track record for success and reusability has set a high bar for New Glenn to meet.
What People Are Saying
Jeff Bezos said that no matter what happens, "We're going to pick ourselves up and keep going."
"The thing we're most nervous about is the booster landing," he told Reuters in a prelaunch interview on Sunday. "Clearly on a first flight you could have an anomaly at any mission phase, so anything could happen."
What Happens Next
The three-hour launch window will open at 1 a.m. EST on Thursday, Blue Origin said in a post on X.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
English (US) ·