Created 14-Nov-25
Modified 19-Nov-25
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from Blue Origin:
Blue Origin launched its second heavy-lift New Glenn rocket Thursday, putting two small NASA satellites onto a long, looping course to Mars to learn more about how the sun has slowly blown away the red planet’s once thick atmosphere.
The centerpiece of Amazon- and Blue Origin-founder Jeff Bezos’ space ambitious, the towering 321-foot tall New Glenn rocket’s seven methane-burning main engines ignited at 3:55 p.m. EST, majestically pushing the booster skyward atop 3.8 million pounds of thrust.
The launching came four days late due to stormy weather on Earth and in space where a powerful solar storm buffeted the upper atmosphere with a torrent of high-energy radiation that could have caused electrical problems with the rocket or its payloads.
The storm had abated by launch time Thursday and Blue Origin employees, looking on from viewing sites several miles from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad, cheered and applauded as the booster climbed skyward, followed moments later by the booming roar of its engines sweeping across the Space Coast.
The New Glenn’s maiden flight last January successfully boosted a Blue Origin payload into orbit, but the reusable first stage failed in its attempt to reach an off-shore landing ship, named after Bezos’ mother Jacklyn.
The 188-foot-tall first stage launched Thursday, nicknamed “Never Tell Me The Odds,” featured a variety of upgrades to improve performance.
As with SpaceX booster landings, the New Glenn stage fired three engines to slow down for re-entry, then restarted the engines just before touchdown, followed by landing on the power of a single engine.
This time around, the booster made an on-target, picture-perfect landing, prompting another round of raucous cheers and applause from Blue Origin workers.
Much like returning SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, the larger New Glenn booster will be hauled back to Port Canaveral and, depending on its condition, be refurbished and readied for use on an upcoming New Glenn flight.
Full story here:
Blue Origin launched its second heavy-lift New Glenn rocket Thursday, putting two small NASA satellites onto a long, looping course to Mars to learn more about how the sun has slowly blown away the red planet’s once thick atmosphere.
The centerpiece of Amazon- and Blue Origin-founder Jeff Bezos’ space ambitious, the towering 321-foot tall New Glenn rocket’s seven methane-burning main engines ignited at 3:55 p.m. EST, majestically pushing the booster skyward atop 3.8 million pounds of thrust.
The launching came four days late due to stormy weather on Earth and in space where a powerful solar storm buffeted the upper atmosphere with a torrent of high-energy radiation that could have caused electrical problems with the rocket or its payloads.
The storm had abated by launch time Thursday and Blue Origin employees, looking on from viewing sites several miles from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station launch pad, cheered and applauded as the booster climbed skyward, followed moments later by the booming roar of its engines sweeping across the Space Coast.
The New Glenn’s maiden flight last January successfully boosted a Blue Origin payload into orbit, but the reusable first stage failed in its attempt to reach an off-shore landing ship, named after Bezos’ mother Jacklyn.
The 188-foot-tall first stage launched Thursday, nicknamed “Never Tell Me The Odds,” featured a variety of upgrades to improve performance.
As with SpaceX booster landings, the New Glenn stage fired three engines to slow down for re-entry, then restarted the engines just before touchdown, followed by landing on the power of a single engine.
This time around, the booster made an on-target, picture-perfect landing, prompting another round of raucous cheers and applause from Blue Origin workers.
Much like returning SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, the larger New Glenn booster will be hauled back to Port Canaveral and, depending on its condition, be refurbished and readied for use on an upcoming New Glenn flight.
Full story here:
© Dennis Huff
