Key Points
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket completed its second flight.
- For the first time, the company successfully landed the rocket’s first-stage booster for reuse.
- The mission carried NASA satellites for the ESCAPADE mission to Mars.
- This success is a major vote of confidence for Blue Origin and its partnership with NASA.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has completed its second flight, according to a report from The Washington Post. The rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday. In a major milestone for the company, the first-stage booster successfully separated and later landed on a sea platform that Blue Origin calls “Jacklyn.”
This launch marks the first time the space startup has recovered a New Glenn booster for reuse. While the rocket’s first flight back in January reached space, Blue Origin was unable to save the booster from crashing into the ocean. The company had planned to launch this second mission on November 9, but had to cancel it at the last minute due to bad weather.
The second mission for New Glenn is also significant because of what it was carrying. The rocket launched NASA satellites bound for Mars as part of the agency’s ESCAPADE mission. Given SpaceX’s very close relationship with NASA, Blue Origin working with the agency on such an important mission could be seen as a major vote of confidence.
This success could also put New Glenn in a good position to help another company founded by Jeff Bezos: Amazon. The Post notes that Blue Origin already has an agreement with Amazon to launch its recently rebranded Amazon Leo satellites. The Leo project is designed to be a direct competitor to SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service.
While SpaceX has completed far more launches with its Starship rocket, it has also experienced several explosive failures.
Blue Origin still has a long way to go, but if it can continue to have successful missions like this one with New Glenn, it could become a serious competitor to SpaceX.
