New Glenn Launch Delayed: Blue Origin Loses to Musk and the Chinese

Blue Origin management said the launch was cancelled because of a malfunction in a “subsystem” of the spacecraft. The vague wording was never deciphered, but some sources say the problem was caused by ice forming in a pressurized gas mixture vent line. All efforts to turn the culprit of the “plug” into water have been unsuccessful. The entire pipeline will have to be cleared.


The launch of the rocket is planned for Cape Canaveral, from pad No. 36. The company's press service also added that "opportunities are being considered" for another launch attempt. It is assumed that New Glenn (NG) will launch the Blue Ring Pathfinder satellite, located in the 2nd stage of the carrier, into orbit. There is also an additional task - the return of the spent launch module to the barge waiting for it in the ocean. However, even the founder of the company, J. Bezos, is not sure of a positive outcome of this matter.


New Glenn (NG), which is 98 m tall, is often compared to Elon Musk's competitor, the heavy Falcon Heavy. Blue Origin's product, like Falcon 9, is intended to be reusable. NG can launch 45 tons of cargo into space, while SpaceX's rocket can launch 64 tons.

NG is equipped with liquid power units BE-4 of its own production. They were previously used on the Vulcan launch vehicle from ULAS. Seven engines are installed on the first stage. The second is also equipped with liquid-type units BE-3U, but manufactured specifically for use in a vacuum.


New Glenn has been in development since 2012, its first launch was scheduled for 2021, but was constantly postponed due to technical failures. The launch vehicle is named after the first American astronaut, J. Glenn. In 2020, Blue Origin took part in a competition announced by the Space Force. At stake were a couple of five-year contracts implying regular rocket launches. The company offered its New Glenn with BE-4 units. However, following the results of the competition, Blue Origin was “pushed aside” by Elon Musk and the United Launch Alliance. The latter was created in 2006 and is a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.


SpaceX also cancelled the Starship launch, postponing it to 15.01.2025 due to bad weather. But the Chinese are doing well: today, January 13, the Jielong-3 rocket successfully launched, launching 10 satellites into space.