Blue Origin is preparing for its largest launch yet, but the attempt was made on Monday morning washed For technical reasons after several delays occurred throughout the three-hour launch period. The window originally opened at 1 a.m. ET.
It’s unclear when Jeff Bezos’ commercial space company will next attempt to send its 320-foot New Glenn rocket into space for the first time.
The launch of New Glenn comes after nearly a decade of development, and its results could threaten the dominance of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX – and not only In the commercial space industry But also in the satellite Internet business. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about the New Glenn ride and how to watch it live.
What is New Glen and why is it important?
It was first announced in 2016, by Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket It aims to transport cargo, satellites and, in the future, people into space. New Glenn is named after John Glenn, The first NASA astronaut to enter Earth orbit.
Its first stage is supported by seven of Blue Origin’s powerful BE-4 enginesWhich operates on liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. Blue Origin aims to reuse New Glenn’s first stage for at least 25 missions, as it is designed to land vertically on an offshore platform after launch, allowing the company to recover it.
The rocket’s upper stage is removable and carries Blue Origin’s payload. It is capable of sending 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit. The New Glenn is also “designed to have the safety and redundancy necessary for human flight,” Blue Origin says. Although Blue Origin initially aimed to launch New Glenn in 2020, its inaugural flight has been plagued by delays due to issues with the plane. Development of its BE-4 engine and Other technical accidents.
like Noted by NPRNew Glenn has a similar payload capacity to SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, but features a larger cargo area at 23 feet wide. If New Glenn’s launch is successful, it could lead to increased competition with SpaceX, as the two companies compete for lucrative government contracts.
New Glenn is also a key component of Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite internet initiative. Although the company’s first batch of satellites is scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket this year, Blue Origin will eventually launch Project Kuiper satellites are aboard New Glenn, which competes with SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon plans to send 3,236 Project Kuiper satellites into space, a much smaller number than… The growing Starlink constellation More than 6000 satellites.
What to expect from New Glenn’s first launch
New Glenn is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a three-hour launch window opening on January 13 at 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. PT). The launch was scheduled for January 10, but was postponed due to “high sea conditions in the Atlantic Ocean.” 1st to 12th January and Then until January 13th With conditions still “unfavorable.”
During this unmanned launch, New Glenn will have done just that Pathfinder blue ring On board the aircraft, a payload consisting of a communications array, a power system, and a flight computer. I will test The company’s Blue Ring spacecraftwhich will help support missions in terms of refueling, hosting, data migration and cloud computing capabilities. The goal is for New Glenn to reach orbit, while “anything beyond that,” such as landing its reusable booster, is a “bonus.” According to Blue Origin CEO David Limp.
“This is our first flight and we have prepared rigorously,” Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of New Glenn, said in a statement. “But no amount of ground testing or mission simulations can replace flying this rocket. It’s time to fly. No matter what happens, we will learn this knowledge, improve it, and apply it to our next launch.”
How to watch the launch of New Glenn live
Blue Origin will live stream the launch from its website Websitethat it X accountand her YouTube channel. The YouTube stream is embedded at the top of this article.
Update January 13: Note that the launch has been cleared.
