Will Launch Off Complex 36 At Cape Canaveral Space Force Station

Blue Origin postponed the maiden launch of its New Glenn booster rocket to no earlier than 1 a.m. Friday, January 10, but given that New Glenn is a brand new launch vehicle and Blue Origin wants to be certain all is in perfect order, that may also slip.

The 320-foot-tall heavy lift vehicle will lift off from Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station when weather and other conditions are deemed favorable. The launch trajectory will take the rocket eastward over the Atlantic Ocean. The droneship Jacklyn, named after founder Jeff Bezos’s mother, has already departed from Port Canaveral and is awaiting the autonomous landing of New Glenn’s first stage booster, optimistically named So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance.

New Glenn’s first mission, designated NG-1, will be lifting a simulated payload of 45,000 pounds rather than a commercial payload. This is designed to test the rocket’s performance and is a critical step in obtaining certification for the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program. The company also said it will serve as a test of its Blue Ring space mobility platform.

New Glenn is Blue Origin’s entrance into the orbital payload market that is currently dominated by SpaceX. It is much larger than the New Shepard, which has been lifting humans and payloads into the edge of space since 2015. New Glenn is designed to lift payloads and humans into low-Earth orbit, and for transit to the Moon as well as deep space missions.

FMI:  www.blueorigin.com/