BREVARD COUNTY, CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FLORIDA -- Blue Origin has announced that the inaugural flight of its New Glenn rocket is set for January 8 at 1 a.m. This event marks a pivotal moment for the aerospace company as it aims to enhance its capabilities in reusable orbital launch systems.
The launch will take place from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, with the rocket's trajectory directed eastward over the Atlantic. A significant aspect of this mission is the planned landing of New Glenn's first stage booster on 'Jacklyn,' Blue Origin's autonomous landing ship, ensuring the rocket's reusability for future missions.
Blue Origin, founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, has been preparing for this launch for several years. Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn represents a major advancement for the company. Unlike the smaller New Shepard rocket, which has been operational since 2015 for suborbital flights, New Glenn is designed for low-Earth orbit, deep space missions, and lunar exploration.
On December 27, Blue Origin successfully completed a crucial hot-fire test of its seven BE-4 engines, a key milestone that has cleared the path for the upcoming launch, designated New Glenn-1 (NG-1). This mission will not carry a commercial payload but will instead transport a 45,000-pound mass simulator to evaluate the rocket's performance. This test is essential for certifying New Glenn for the U.S. Space Force's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.
New Glenn's reusability is a standout feature, with the 188-foot first-stage booster expected to land on the Jacklyn vessel, which has been stationed at Port Canaveral since September. Similar to SpaceX's drone ships, Jacklyn operates autonomously during recovery attempts.
The New Glenn rocket is engineered to carry payloads of up to 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit and 13 metric tons to geostationary orbit, positioning it as a competitor to SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Blue Origin has secured contracts for New Glenn, including agreements with Amazon's Project Kuiper, which aims to rival SpaceX's Starlink, along with various government and commercial missions.