Blue Origin’s First Launch: Bezos’ Rocket Fails Landing but Successfully Sends Payload to Space

This article is not intended as investment advice. The author holds no positions in any of the stocks referenced.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Launches Successfully Despite Landing Challenges

Today, Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, achieved a significant milestone with the successful launch of its New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCFS) in Florida. The launch, initially delayed for two days due to technical issues and unfavorable weather conditions, finally took place around 2 AM Eastern Time after an hour’s wait.

Approximately three and a half minutes post-launch, the New Glenn’s first and second stages separated seamlessly. The second stage then ignited its BE-3U engines to propel it away from the first stage booster. Similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, the New Glenn is equipped with a first-stage booster designed for landing on a drone ship. Unfortunately, during this inaugural mission, the booster did not succeed in its landing attempt.

The Mission’s Objectives and Innovations

Today’s mission successfully positioned the upper stage in a medium-Earth orbit (MEO), where it is expected to spend over six hours collecting vital data and executing various experiments. The payload on board was a Blue Ring pathfinder, a test article representing Blue Origin’s innovative vehicle intended for satellite launches, space infrastructure development, data transmission, and orbital maneuvers boasting a delta-v of up to four meters per second. Notably, the Blue Ring can perform both chemical and electrical maneuvers and is capable of traveling to cislunar space and beyond.

In a demonstration akin to the Falcon 9’s landing protocol, the New Glenn’s first stage was designed to perform two engine fires preceding its landing attempt. The initial reentry burn happened seven minutes and forty-five seconds after liftoff and was executed successfully.

However, around ten seconds after this engine firing, Mission Control observed a disruption in the data stream from the first stage, which stopped reporting altitude and velocity. At that moment, the rocket was traveling at an impressive speed of 4,285 miles per hour and was at an altitude of 84,226 feet above the drone ship.

Despite the data interruption, telemetry from both rocket stages continued until the nine-minute mark, shifting focus toward the second stage, which achieved orbit shortly after twelve and a half minutes into the flight.

Notably, Blue Origin’s mission milestone tracker skipped documenting the landing burn, suggesting that the first stage experienced an issue between the reentry burn and the landing burn stages. The landing burn, crucial for positioning the rocket vertically for descent, was never initiated, leading to confirmation from Blue Origin that the booster was lost just over 15 minutes post-launch. Additional details regarding the incident are expected from the company soon.

Source & Images