CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket completed its inaugural test flight on January 16, 2025, successfully deploying a prototype satellite into orbit.
The 320-foot (98-meter) rocket, named in honor of John Glenn, lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, utilizing the historic Complex 36 launch pad. This site has been pivotal in space exploration history, previously hosting NASA's Mariner and Pioneer missions.
Funded significantly by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, New Glenn is designed to carry satellites and, eventually, astronauts to orbit and the Moon. For this mission, the prototype satellite remained within the second stage while orbiting Earth for approximately six hours. After the mission, the second stage was placed in a high, safe orbit to mitigate space debris.
The first-stage booster aimed to land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean shortly after launch, allowing for its reuse. The flight had been previously delayed due to ice accumulation in critical plumbing.
Blue Origin, founded 25 years ago, has been operating suborbital flights for paying passengers since 2021. Bezos has expressed ambitions for six to eight New Glenn flights in 2025, with the next scheduled for spring.
New Glenn joins a competitive landscape of new launch vehicles, including SpaceX's Starship, which is set to play a crucial role in NASA's Artemis program for lunar exploration.
Initially, New Glenn's debut was intended to send twin spacecraft, named Escapade, to Mars. However, NASA rescheduled this mission, postponing it until at least spring 2025.