CAPE CANAVERAL: Jeff Bezos’s aerospace company, Blue Origin, postponed the highly anticipated inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket following technical issues during the final countdown. The delay marks a temporary setback in the company’s bid to compete with SpaceX in the lucrative satellite launch market.
The towering New Glenn rocket, a partially reusable vehicle standing 30 stories tall, had been prepared for liftoff at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Fueled by methane and liquid oxygen, the launch was initially slated for 1 a.m., with a window extending until 4 a.m. However, repeated delays during the countdown culminated in Blue Origin’s decision to stand down.
A spokesperson on the company’s live feed explained that the mission teams had encountered “a few anomalies.” In an official statement, Blue Origin elaborated, “We’re troubleshooting a vehicle subsystem issue that extends beyond our launch window. We’ll evaluate opportunities for the next launch attempt.”
While the delay is officially projected to last at least 24 hours, experts suggest it may take longer as the company works to address the issue and ensure mission safety.
Decades of Development, High Stakes at Play
The New Glenn rocket represents the culmination of over a decade of development and billions of dollars in investment. Its first mission includes ambitious objectives: delivering its payload to orbit and recovering the rocket’s first-stage booster by landing it on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
Speaking to Reuters ahead of the launch, Bezos acknowledged the risks. “On a first flight, anomalies can occur at any mission phase. Anything could happen,” he said.
The rocket’s payload includes the prototype of Blue Origin’s Blue Ring vehicle, a versatile spacecraft designed for national security and satellite servicing missions. Successfully placing the payload into orbit on the rocket’s debut flight would be a significant accomplishment in the space industry.
“If we achieve that, it would be a major success. Landing the booster would be icing on the cake,” Bezos added.
Aiming to Rival SpaceX
Blue Origin has faced multiple delays in the development of New Glenn, even as Elon Musk’s SpaceX solidified its dominance with the reusable Falcon 9, the most frequently launched rocket in the world.
In late 2023, Bezos pushed to accelerate Blue Origin’s progress, prioritizing New Glenn and its BE-4 engines. Under the leadership of Dave Limp, an Amazon veteran appointed as CEO, the company adopted a renewed sense of urgency.
Boasting more than twice the power of SpaceX’s Falcon 9, New Glenn already has a backlog of contracts valued at billions of dollars. As Blue Origin strives to fulfill these commitments, the debut launch remains critical in its journey to becoming a major player in the space industry.
The next attempt at liftoff will be closely watched, as the stakes are high for Blue Origin’s ambitions to reshape the future of orbital launches.