With the upcoming launch of the New Glenn rocket, the aerospace company wants to demonstrate it’s ready to compete with SpaceX.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos recently said that his aerospace company Blue Origin will eventually be bigger than Amazon, though he believes this will require time. 24 years after he founded it, Blue Origin is preparing to debut New Glenn, its first orbital rocket. With the upcoming launch, the space company wants to establish itself as a competitor to SpaceX.
A giant leap. In July 2021, Bezos went to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard, a small 63-foot suborbital launch vehicle. The rocket is strikingly different from New Glenn, which stands at 322 feet tall.
If New Glenn launches successfully, it’ll become the third-largest rocket in operation, following NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy. Designed to be partially reusable like Falcon, New Glenn has a significantly larger booster that maximizes its cargo capacity. Among its objectives are launching Amazon’s Kuiper satellite constellation and competing with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and SpaceX for NASA and Pentagon missions.
Details. New Glenn features a 23-foot-diameter nose, offering twice the internal volume of most current commercial launchers. It’s equipped with seven BE-4 engines that burn methane and liquid oxygen in the first stage. It also comes with two BE-3U engines that use hydrogen and liquid oxygen in the second stage. This provides an impressive payload capacity of 45 tons to low-Earth orbit and 13 tons to geostationary orbit.
The first stage is designed for at least 25 missions and will land on a barge around 620 miles off the coast of Florida, similar to SpaceX’s approach. The experience gained from the New Shepard suborbital rocket has paved the way for overcoming this technical challenge.
Ready for liftoff. Blue Origin has faced years of delays, a sudden change in leadership, and ongoing criticism for being the perennial aerospace company that has yet to reach orbit. However, the aerospace manufacturer has successfully positioned the first New Glenn rocket upright and is preparing for its inaugural launch.
The rocket is set to launch from pad LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. If approved by the Federal Aviation Administration, New Glenn could launch before the end of 2024. However, there are some delays with environmental permitting. In the meantime, Blue Origin has completed various tests, including a propellant load that was accomplished in just half an hour.
What’s on board? The NG-1 mission will see the New Glenn rocket carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder on its second stage. This prototype spacecraft is intended for future satellite deployment. The technology demonstrator will test the communications, power systems, and navigation of the upcoming orbital insertion vehicle, which will be designed to maneuver efficiently in space.
The debut flight will also serve as a certification test for future national security launches, which is a key requirement for executing missions for the Space Force. ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket, which includes BE-4 methane engines manufactured by Blue Origin, is also in the certification process.
A promising future. Under CEO Dave Limp’s leadership, Blue Origin has accelerated its schedule. In addition to missions for Amazon and OneWeb, the company plans to launch its Blue Moon lunar module and conduct flights to the future Orbital Reef commercial space station in the medium term.
Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy dominates the megarocket niche, while NASA’s SLS sets the standard for missions to the Moon and beyond. The introduction of New Glenn could provide greater options and competitive pricing for both institutional and private customers.
Image | Blue Origin
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