Blue Origin’s Newest Rocket Successfully Reaches Orbit in First Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL: Blue Origin just had a big day with its New Glenn rocket. It launched for the first time, sending a prototype satellite into orbit. The rocket took off from a historic pad in Florida, the same one used for NASA missions decades ago.

The New Glenn rocket is a massive 320 feet tall and was built with a lot of backing from Jeff Bezos. It’s designed to carry satellites and even astronauts into space. The launch was a sight to see, with all seven engines firing up and lighting up the sky. People on the nearby beaches were thrilled to watch.

Even though the first-stage booster missed its landing on a barge in the Atlantic, Blue Origin was still super happy. They reached orbit, which was the main goal. Bezos had said it was a bit ambitious to expect the booster to land on the first try.

Blue Origin’s CEO, Dave Limp, celebrated the success on social media, saying they’re looking forward to the next launch. For this test, the satellite stayed in the second stage while it orbited Earth, and they made sure to keep it safe to avoid space junk.

Originally, the launch was set for Monday, but they had to delay it due to ice in the plumbing. New Glenn is built to carry all sorts of spacecraft and eventually astronauts to the moon.

Blue Origin has been sending people to the edge of space since 2021, but this rocket is a whole new level. It’s five times taller than the smaller rockets they’ve been using. They’ve invested over a billion dollars into the launch site at Cape Canaveral, which is close to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

Looking ahead, Blue Origin plans to have six to eight New Glenn flights this year, with the next one coming up in spring. Bezos mentioned that he doesn’t see Blue Origin as a competitor to SpaceX; instead, he believes there’s room for everyone in the space industry to succeed together.

New Glenn is part of a wave of new rockets launching recently, including SpaceX’s Starship, which is the biggest of them all. Musk is also working on catching the returning booster with giant arms, which is pretty cool.

NASA has plans to use Starship for moon landings, while Blue Origin is working on its own lunar lander called Blue Moon. There’s a lot happening in space exploration, and it’s exciting to see how it all unfolds.