The liftoff had been scheduled for Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36 in Florida at 1 a.m. EST Friday, but officials rescheduled to 1 a.m. EST Sunday "due to a high sea state in the Atlantic where we hope to land our booster," Blue Origin said in a post on X.
The rocket is named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth. It is set to carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder, a payload that's designed to test the communications, power and control systems for Blue Origin's multi-use space platform, known as Blue Ring.
The mission is supported by the Pentagon's Defense Innovation Unit. A successful launch of the New Glenn would help the company achieve Department of Defense certification as part of that program.
Blue Origin has been working on the New Glenn rocket for more than a decade and is as concerned about the performance of the multi-stage rocket as it is about the payload, the company said.
"This is our first flight, and we've prepared rigorously for it," said Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn. "But no amount of ground testing or mission simulations are a replacement for flying this rocket. It's time to fly. No matter what happens, we'll learn, refine and apply that knowledge to our next launch."
Blue Origin will not be the first company to land a reusable booster stage rocket on a drone ship, but if successful, would be the first to accomplish it on the first attempt. It is a tricky proposition and rival SpaceX was not able to land its first stage fuel booster on a drone on its first attempt.
"We're calling New Glenn's first booster 'So You're Telling Me There's a Chance,'" Blue Origin's CEO, Dave Limp, wrote on social-media site X in September. "Why? No one has landed a reusable booster on the first try. Yet, we're going for it, and humbly submit having good confidence in landing it."
The barge has officially been named Jacklyn as a tribute to Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos' mother.
The first stage fuel booster rocket has been designed for at least 25 flights.
"By operating like a commercial airliner (but with cleaner fuel), New Glenn will lead to significantly less waste and cost," Blue Origin said on its mission webpage.
The first stage booster rocket is powered by seven liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen engines that generate 550,000 "liquid pounds" of force, Blue Origin explained.
The New Glenn rocket measures 320 feet, longer than an American football field.
SpaceX has made the launches and safe returns of its first stage fuel boosters largely routine, as it has deployed thousands of its Starlink Internet satellites into orbit and has plans to expand its constellation in 2025.
Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
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