Blue Origin prepares for rocket launch, may challenge SpaceX's dominance
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk (photo: Getty Images)
A rocket is expected to be launched at a launchpad in Florida that has been inactive for almost two decades. A new rocket about 98 meters long, developed by Blue Origin, is being prepared for the first flight, CNN reports.
The outlet writes that the unmanned launch vehicle, called the New Glenn, will be Blue Origin's first attempt to send a rocket into orbit, which is necessary if the company hopes to shake Elon Musk's SpaceX's long-standing dominance in the industry. The launch is scheduled to take place next week from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The New Glenn rocket is as tall as a 30-story building and consists of several parts:
- the first-stage rocket booster, which provides the initial thrust during launch;
- the upper stage on top of the accelerator, which includes a cargo compartment protected by a nose cone.
It will house experimental technologies for a future mission.
To replicate the success SpaceX has had in reusing rocket boosters, Blue Origin will also attempt to guide the first stage of the New Glenn back to a safe landing on an offshore platform, which should occur within minutes of liftoff.
Like SpaceX, Blue Origin will seek to recover and reuse the rocket's first-stage boosters to reduce costs. At the same time, a smooth flight is not guaranteed for the first mission.
However, the success of the New Glenn, named after legendary NASA astronaut John Glenn, is essential to achieving some of Blue Origin's most ambitious goals.
According to CNN, one day this rocket could be used
- to launch spacecraft necessary for national security;
- to launch Amazon's Internet satellites into space;
- and even to assist in the construction of a space station that Blue Origin is developing with commercial partners.
During the fifth test flight of the SpaceX spacecraft, which took place on October 13, 2024, in Texas, SpaceX achieved something it had never done before. We are talking about the successful landing of the accelerator.
