Blue Origin on Thursday launched its New Glenn rocket on its first test flight. The rocket, which blasted off from Florida, carries a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. The rocket is named after the first American to orbit Earth. It soared from the same pad used to launch NASA's Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft a half-century ago.
The satellite, for this test, was expected to remain inside the second stage while circling Earth. The mission is expected to last six hours, with the second stage then placed in a safe condition to stay in a high, out-of-the-way orbit by NASA's practices for minimising space junk.
Elon Musk congratulates Blue Origin
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratualted Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin for the feat. He wrote in a post on X, "Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt!"
The satellite, for this test, was expected to remain inside the second stage while circling Earth. The mission is expected to last hours, with the second stage then placed in a safe condition to stay in a high, out-of-the-way orbit by NASA's practices for minimising space junk.
The first-stage booster aimed to land on a barge in the Atlantic minutes after liftoff so it could be recycled.
New Glenn was supposed to fly before dawn Monday, but ice buildup in critical plumbing caused a delay. The rocket is built to haul spacecraft and eventually astronauts to orbit and also the moon.
A brief information about Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin
Founded 25 years ago by Bezos, Blue Origin has been launching paying passengers to the edge of space since 2021, including himself. The short hops from Texas use smaller rockets named after the first American in space, Alan Shepard. New Glenn, which honours John Glenn, is five times taller.
Blue Origin poured more than USD 1 billion into New Glenn's launch site, rebuilding historic Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The pad is 9 miles (14 kilometres) from the company's control centres and rocket factory, outside the gates of NASA's Kennedy Space Centre.
(With inputs from AP)
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