CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin successfully launched its new heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, on its inaugural test flight on Thursday, deploying a prototype satellite into orbit at a distance of thousands of miles from Earth.
The New Glenn rocket, named in honor of the first American to orbit the planet, departed from Florida’s launch pad, a site that has historical significance for NASA’s Mariner and Pioneer missions from over 50 years ago. This rocket, which stands at an impressive 320 feet (98 meters), was developed over several years with substantial investment from Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon. It carries an experimental platform that is designed to host satellites or release them into their designated orbits.
As the rocket lifted off, all seven main engines ignited successfully, illuminating the pre-dawn sky and thrilling the crowd of spectators gathered along nearby beaches. Cheers broke out among Blue Origin employees who celebrated as the rocket achieved orbit just 13 minutes post-launch. Even Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, commended the accomplishment.
Bezos observed the launch from Mission Control, arms crossed as he watched New Glenn ascend through the atmosphere.
“We did it! Orbital,” said Dave Limp, Blue Origin’s CEO, in a post on social media platform X.
During this initial test, the satellite was designed to remain within the second stage while orbiting Earth. The mission was anticipated to last around six hours, after which the second stage was slated to enter a safe orbit to minimize space debris, aligning with NASA’s guidelines.
Though the first-stage booster was unable to land on an Atlantic barge shortly after liftoff—an attempt to facilitate its reuse—company officials emphasized that the primary objective was for the prototype satellite to successfully enter orbit. In a pre-launch statement, Bezos deemed the plan to land the booster on its first attempt as “a little crazy.”
“Great night for Team Blue. On to spring and trying again on the landing,” Limp added.
Originally scheduled for launch before dawn on Monday, the New Glenn flight was delayed due to ice formation in critical equipment. This rocket is intended to transport satellites and, in the future, astronauts to orbit and even the moon.
Founded by Bezos 25 years ago, Blue Origin has been offering commercial flights to the edge of space since 2021, including working trips with himself on smaller rockets named after Alan Shepard, the first American in space. At five times the height of those rockets, New Glenn pays tribute to John Glenn.
The company has invested over $1 billion into developing the New Glenn launch facility by renovating the historic Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This site is positioned nine miles (14 kilometers) away from their control centers and rocket manufacturing facilities, just outside NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
Blue Origin aims for six to eight New Glenn launches this year, contingent on everything proceeding smoothly, with the next expected to take place this spring.
In a recent interview, Bezos did not reveal specific details about his financial contributions to the program and noted that he does not view Blue Origin as a competitor to Musk’s SpaceX, which has long dominated the rocket-launching sector. “There’s room for lots of winners,” he stated, emphasizing the importance of collaboration within the industry to reduce the costs associated with accessing space.
New Glenn reflects the trend of newly developed large rockets emerging in recent years, including United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, Europe’s upgraded Ariane 6, and NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), which serves to send astronauts back to the moon. Meanwhile, SpaceX’s Starship, the largest rocket at around 400 feet (123 meters), is preparing for further test flights, following Musk’s plans to catch the returning booster using mechanical arms.
Starship is also critical for NASA’s future lunar missions, with astronauts expected to descend from lunar orbit to the surface using this spacecraft during the Artemis program. Blue Origin’s lunar lander, known as Blue Moon, is slated to make its first mission during the third landing by astronauts on the moon.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson advocated for multiple moon landers as part of a broader strategy, mirroring efforts to utilize two companies for transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station. He is expected to step down as new leadership is anticipated under President-elect Donald Trump, who has proposed tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman has previously undertaken private space journeys through SpaceX and will require Senate approval.
The New Glenn launch initially aimed to send twin spacecraft to Mars for NASA, but these missions were deferred when it became clear the rocket wouldn’t be prepared in time. The small probes, named Escapade, are designed to investigate the Martian atmosphere and magnetic environment while orbiting Mars, but they are now scheduled to launch no earlier than spring.
