Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin cancels the first launch of the New Glenn rocket

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin cancels the first launch of the New Glenn rocket

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Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has again postponed the first flight of its New Glenn vehicle, citing a technical issue.

The aerospace company announced this early Monday resign from the planned launch of the 322-foot-long, partially reusable rocket to address a “vehicle subsystem issue.” During a live broadcast of the launch countdown, a company official said mission teams were investigating “some anomalies.”

Blue Origin’s three-hour window began at 1 a.m. ET, according to the company, which plans to launch New Glenn from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. It will explore options for its next launch attempt.

It was just the latest delay for New Glenn, which has officially been in the works since 2016, although some of its parts were manufactured back in 2012. Blue Origin, that receive A launch license from regulators on December 27, 2024 had hoped its maiden voyage would take place last year before time ran out.

The company had ultimately scheduled the launch for January 10th at the earliest before delaying its plans due to unfavorable conditions in the Atlantic Ocean. Blue Origin will attempt to land New Glenn’s first stage launch vehicle on a barge in the sea 10 minutes after launch, while the second stage goes into orbit.

In one Interview with Reuters Earlier this month, Bezos said, “The thing we’re most worried about is the booster landing,” adding that “an anomaly could occur on a first flight in any phase of the mission, so anything could happen.”

New Glenn will carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder, which will test technology developed for the company’s Blue Ring, a transfer vehicle to carry satellites to their planned orbits and capable of carrying 3,000 kilograms of payload. The vehicle could be monumental for Blue Origin, which has satellite launch contracts with companies like Amazon And AST SpaceMobile and plans to launch a space station called Orbital reef.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX also plans to launch its own mega rocket, the 400-foot-tall Starship, later this week after experiencing delays of its own. Starship’s seventh test was scheduled for last Friday before the launch was postponed to no earlier than Wednesday.

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