One of the key questions about Blue Origin is whether it will push toward full reusability with New Glenn. In 2021, Ars first reported on an effort codenamed "Project Jarvis" to develop a stainless steel upper stage that could be reused. The company even built a test tank, although the effort was eventually shelved.
Going forward, SpaceX is likely to offer its gigantic Starship rocket as a competitor to New Glenn, and here, the advantage shifts back to SpaceX. Bigger than New Glenn (120 meters tall versus 98) and with a wider faring to encapsulate cargo (9 meters versus 7), SpaceX's Starship will boast a massive payload advantage over Blue Origin's new rocket.
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin joined the billionaire’s space race in earnest when its New Glenn rocket roared from a launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in the early morning hours of Jan. 16. The second stage with the Blue Ring payload successfully reached orbit. However, an attempt to land the first stage on a drone ship failed.
Just past 2 a.m. Eastern time on Jan. 16, 2025, a new rocket blasted off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. By reaching orbit, Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launch has marked a milestone for a commercial space company that has big ambitions.
Blue Origin has shared a video recap of last week's maiden launch of the New Glenn, including dramatic close-up footage of the rocket leaving the launchpad.
The Space Coast set a new record in 2024 with 93 launches from all providers, building off the 72 orbital missions flown in 2023. With SpaceX’s continued pace, more launches from United Launch Alliance and the debut of Blue Origin’s New Glenn,
John Oberst, head of Alaska Aerospace, went on the "Today" show to discuss what is being described as a “traffic jam” at the country’s spaceports.
Blue Origin scrubbed a planned launch of its New Shepard rocket Tuesday due to persistent cloud cover at the west Texas launch site.
NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland has ties to Tuesday morning's Blue Origin New Shepard rocket launch from the company's launch site in West Texas.
Though 2025 won't mark the return of astronauts into deep space as NASA had hoped, launchpads still will be scorching-hot from a procession of robotic spacecraft attempting to land on the moon . How many of these moon landings will succeed? Will the number top the two-ish (one of which made a heckuva comeback) last year?
The U.S. has entered a new era of heavy-lift launch—one of choice. The inaugural flight of privately owned Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket also kicks off what promises to be a busy year for developers. More than 20 new launch systems of different payload capabilities could achieve their first flights...
Landing and reusing boosters are critical to reducing costs in the commercial space industry, a feat pioneered by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rockets. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp acknowledged the landing was a “stretch goal,” emphasizing the importance of learning from the attempt.