For Blue Origin, 'We Did It! Orbital'

Blue Origin launched its massive new rocket on its first test flight on Thursday, sending up a prototype satellite to orbit thousands of miles above Earth. Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, the New Glenn rocket blasted off from Florida, soaring from the same pad used to launch NASA's Mariner and Pioneer spacecraft a half-century ago. Years in the making with heavy funding by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 320-foot rocket carried an experimental platform designed to host satellites or release them into their proper orbits.

• All seven main engines fired at liftoff as the rocket blazed through the predawn sky, and company employees erupted in cheers and applause once the craft successfully reached orbit 13 minutes later, per the AP. Bezos took part in the action from Mission Control, standing with crossed arms as he watched New Glenn soar. "We did it! Orbital. Great night for Team Blue," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp posted on X.

• For this test, the satellite was meant to remain inside the second stage while circling Earth. The mission was 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 in accordance with NASA's practices for minimizing space junk.
• The first-stage booster missed its landing on a barge in the Atlantic minutes after liftoff so it could be recycled, but the company stressed the more important goal was for the test satellite to reach orbit. "On to spring and trying again on the landing," Limp noted in his online post.
• New Glenn was originally supposed to launch before dawn on 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. Blue Origin poured more than $1 billion into New Glenn's launch site, rebuilding historic Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Blue Origin envisions six to eight New Glenn flights this year, if everything goes well, with the next coming this spring. More here.

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