Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk prolonged his congratulations to rival Jeff Bezos after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket efficiently reached orbit on its debut flight. Taking to X, Musk wrote, “Congratulations on reaching orbit on the primary try! @JeffBezos.”
The historic achievement marks a major milestone for Bezos’s house exploration firm, Blue Origin. The corporate confirmed the success by way of its X account, stating, “Second stage engine cutoff confirmed. New Glenn’s second stage and payload at the moment are in orbit. One other burn developing…”
Blue Origin efficiently launched its colossal new rocket on its maiden check flight Thursday, carrying a prototype satellite tv for pc into orbit hundreds of miles above Earth.
The rocket, named New Glenn after the primary American to orbit the planet, lifted off from Florida, chickening out from the historic pad that when launched NASA’s Mariner and Pioneer missions over 50 years in the past.
Developed over a number of years with substantial funding from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, the 320-foot (98-meter) rocket transported an experimental platform designed for internet hosting satellites or deploying them into exact orbits. Excited cheers and applause erupted amongst firm workers because the spacecraft efficiently reached orbit.
Throughout this check, the satellite tv for pc was meant to remain throughout the second stage whereas orbiting Earth. The mission was deliberate to final six hours, after which the second stage could be safely positioned in a excessive orbit, following NASA’s tips to cut back house particles.
The primary-stage booster didn’t land on a barge within the Atlantic shortly after launch, stopping it from being reused, however Blue Origin emphasised that the first aim was for the check satellite tv for pc to achieve orbit. “What a implausible day,” exclaimed Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin’s launch commentator.
New Glenn was initially scheduled for a pre-dawn launch on Monday, however ice accumulation in key plumbing prompted a delay. Designed to hold each spacecraft and, ultimately, astronauts to orbit and the Moon, the rocket represents a major development.
Based by Jeff Bezos 25 years in the past, Blue Origin has been launching paying passengers to the sting of house since 2021, together with Bezos himself. These transient journeys from Texas are made with smaller rockets named after Alan Shepard, the primary American in house. As compared, New Glenn, named after John Glenn, is 5 occasions taller.
