CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (Diya TV) — Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket on its inaugural flight Thursday, achieving orbit and marking a significant milestone in the commercial space sector.
The 322-foot-tall rocket, named after astronaut John Glenn, launched at 12:33 p.m. IST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder as its primary payload. The mission was intended to validate the rocket’s performance and deliver the payload into medium Earth orbit.
“We did it! Orbital. Great night for Team Blue,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp remarked, celebrating the achievement. Founder Jeff Bezos shared videos of the launch, highlighting the company’s progress in space exploration.
The mission, however, suffered a setback since the reusable first-stage booster, So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance failed to land on the droneship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean. Limp admitted that it was ambitious to try booster recovery on the maiden flight and showed hope for the future mission: “We’ll learn quite a bit from today and give it another shot at our next launch this spring.”
The New Glenn rocket will compete in the commercial launch market with a payload capacity of substantial payload to low Earth orbit and geostationary transfer orbit. This will place Blue Origin on the same playing field as other established companies, such as SpaceX.
Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX, also took to social media to congratulate Bezos and the team at Blue Origin on their achievement.
This successful launch marks a critical step forward for Blue Origin, proving its ability to put payloads into orbit and further adding to the private spaceflight industry’s growing competitiveness.