Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin space company is all set to launch its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Monday in a bid to challenge competitor Elon Musk’s SpaceX. The NASA mission named ‘Escapade’ involves a rocket that will send 2 spacecraft towards Mars to study solar wind interaction with Earth’s atmosphere.
Blue Origin on Sunday took to X to announce that the launch window for New Glenn will open at 2:45 pm ET (1:15 am Monday IST).
Also read: Google wants to build AI data centres in space, powered by the sun | Business News
The rocket, roughly 320 feet tall, will send two spacecraft, developed by Rocket Lab Corp, towards Mars to study how solar winds interact with the planet’s atmosphere. The mission called Escapade (for “Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers”) is New Glenn’s first for NASA.
Successful launch can challenge SpaceX
A successful launch of New Glenn could put Blue Origin back on track to challenge SpaceX‘s domination of the space industry. Currently, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is the most prolific launch vehicle in the world.
The mission would involve landing the rocket’s boosters on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. These boosters are designed to be repurposed after the first launch.
Back in January, New Glenn had its debut flight, where the rocket reached orbit but missed the intended booster landing. Despite efforts, New Glenn is years behind its schedule and has faced a longer-than-expected waiting period of around 9 months since its first flight.
Dave Limp, Blue Origin Chief Executive Officer, said in January that the company wanted to have the sequel in late spring and a total of six to eight flights in 2025.
While Blue Origin sends tourists to the edge of space like the famous all-female crew, New Glenn will give the company the capability to deliver spacecraft and satellites into orbit.
This is also crucial to clear Blue Origin’s $10 billion backlog of customer contracts.
New Glenn is a part of next-generation rockets that have emerged as potential players in the launch industry but have faced challenges in moving from flights to orbit.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
