New Glenn Reaches Orbit on Its First Flight
On January 16, 2025, at 2:03 a.m. Eastern time (0703 UTC), Blue Origin's New Glenn heavy-lift launch vehicle lifted off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Brevard County, Florida, on its first mission, NG-1, with its seven BE-4 engines igniting.
The second stage, powered by two BE-3U engines firing twice, reached its final orbit. The Blue Ring Pathfinder it carried received data and performed well. The booster was lost during descent, and recovery was not achieved.
The company said New Glenn had safely reached its intended orbit and achieved its primary objective, reaching orbit on the first attempt.
Chief executive Dave Limp said he was immensely proud that New Glenn had achieved orbit on its first attempt. He said a first-attempt landing recovery of the first-stage booster, nicknamed So You're Telling Me There's a Chance, had itself been an ambitious goal, and that the company would learn from the experience and try again on the next launch in the spring.
Jarrett Jones, senior vice president for New Glenn, said the day marked a new era for Blue Origin and for commercial spaceflight.
The rocket is undergoing certification for the U.S. Space Force's National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. Announced customers include NASA, Amazon's Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile and several telecommunications operators. Later missions will use the rocket to send the Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander and the Mark 2 crewed lander to the Moon under NASA's Artemis program.
(Source: Blue Origin)
Source: Blue Origin
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2025年1月16日，「新格伦」火箭自佛罗里达州卡纳维拉尔角太空军站36号发射场首飞升空。（美国太空军照片，Samuel Becker 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons） / Photo: The New Glenn rocket lifts off on its first flight from Space Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on January 16, 2025. (U.S. Space Force photo by Senior Airman Samuel Becker, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
