Meet Bezos-owned Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, set to launch into space

A successful launch of the rocket would put Blue Origin in direct competition with SpaceX whose Falcon 9 rocket has dominated the launch industry. Here is a look at the features of the New Glenn rocket, and why it is significant for Blue Origin.

What is the New Glenn rocket?

The New Glenn rocket is a heavy-lift launch vehicle which has been named after John Glenn, the NASA astronaut who was the first American to circle the Earth in 1962.

The two-stage rocket is around 320 feet tall — as tall as a 32-story building — and consists of a 7-metre payload fairing. The first stage is reusable and powered by seven BE-4 engines, which the company claims are the world’s most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engines. They generate more than 3.8 million pounds of thrust.

According to Blue Origin, the first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 flights.

New Glenn’s second stage is powered by two BE-3U engines, which use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to provide more than 320,000 pounds of vacuum thrust.

Why is New Glenn significant for Blue Origin?

Founded by Bezos in 2000, Blue Origin has registered only small accomplishments over the years, especially in comparison to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which was established in 2002. So far, Blue Origin’s most notable success has been a small rocket called New Shepard that has taken space tourists and experiments on short up-and-down flights, according to a report in the New York Times.

The company is hoping to change its fortunes with the help of the partially reusable New Glenn rocket. It also expects to challenge Falcon 9’s — also a partially reusable launch vehicle — dominance in the market. Falcon 9 is considered one of the most successful and reliable rockets ever made. It has completed more than 400 missions successfully over the years.

However, the road to New Glenn’s first space mission has been bumpy. For instance, its first mission was supposed to take place in late October 2024 when it had to carry two small Mars-bound orbiters for NASA. But the space agency pulled the spacecraft off when it realised that Blue Origin would not be ready in time.

The January mission of the New Glenn now involves launching technology related to the company’s Blue Ring program, a line of business that will offer manoeuvrable spacecraft to the Pentagon, according to a report by Reuters.