Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Delays Debut Mission Of New Glenn Rocket
Bezos formally announced plans for New Glenn in 2016, though the rocket had been in development before that, with a goal of flying it before the end of the decade.
Blue Origin LLC delayed the inaugural launch of its new flagship rocket on Monday to deal with an unspecified issue with the vehicle.
The Jeff Bezos-backed firm, which is trying to mount a challenge to Elon Musk’s industry-leading SpaceX, repeatedly delayed its targeted lift off time during a three-hour launch window in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The company didn’t give any details on when it would next try to fly the New Glenn rocket.
“We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will take us beyond our launch window,” Blue Origin said in a statement. “We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt.
A successful mission would at last put the company in an elite circle of US ventures that can send satellites to orbit, as well as put Blue Origin on a path toward challenging SpaceX’s dominance.
Bezos told Bloomberg News on the eve of the attempt — his 61st birthday — that the space industry has room for “multiple winners.”
“There is going to be new uses for space that’s going to drive demand for large capacity up,” Bezos said.
“SpaceX is going to be very successful. They’re going to continue to be very successful. Blue Origin is going to be successful. And there’s some company that hasn’t even been founded yet, hasn’t even been thought of yet — they’re going to be successful, too.”
Bezos formally announced plans for New Glenn in 2016, though the rocket had been in development before that, with a goal of flying it before the end of the decade.
But Blue Origin has grappled with a sluggish corporate culture and numerous hurdles and delays – particularly with the development of the vehicle’s main BE-4 engines, built in-house. The engines were finished years behind schedule but have since successfully powered the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket.
New Glenn is set to play a pivotal role in Blue Origin’s biggest space ambitions, including launching satellites for commercial customers, NASA, and the Defense Department.
Blue Origin aims to launch six to eight New Glenn flights in 2025, Chief Executive Officer Dave Limp told Bloomberg.
