Powered by seven BE-4 engines, New Glenn’s first stage delivered the rocket into its intended trajectory before the second stage’s BE-3U engines completed two precise burns. While the mission’s primary objective was accomplished, the booster, affectionately named So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance, was lost during its descent, underscoring the challenges of reusable rocket landings.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp lauded the achievement, saying, “I’m incredibly proud New Glenn achieved orbit on its first attempt. We knew landing our booster on the first try was ambitious, but we’ll learn a lot and try again this spring.” Despite the setback, the mission represents a landmark in Blue Origin’s ambition to revolutionise commercial spaceflight.
The success of New Glenn forms the cornerstone of Blue Origin’s vision for space exploration and utilisation. The rocket is designed to support critical missions, including NASA’s Artemis programme, with future payloads including the Blue Moon cargo and crewed landers destined for the Moon. Additionally, New Glenn will provide versatile orbital capabilities through the Blue Ring Pathfinder, which performed well during today’s flight.
Blue Origin is also positioning New Glenn as a key player in national security and commercial endeavours. The vehicle is undergoing certification by the U.S. Space Force for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) programme and has secured multiple contracts with high-profile clients such as NASA, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile, and global telecommunications providers.
Jarrett Jones, Senior Vice President of New Glenn, expressed optimism for the future. “Today marks a new era for Blue Origin and for commercial space,” he said. “We are committed to ramping up our launch cadence and manufacturing rates to meet the growing demands of the space industry.”
