Blue Origin Nails New Glenn Mars Launch, Reusable Booster Landing

Jeff Bezos’ space company simply hit a significant milestone.

On Thursday afternoon, simply earlier than 4 p.m. ET, Blue Origin’s huge New Glenn rocket dazzled the Florida sky and despatched a pair of NASA spacecraft certain for Mars.

The 321-foot rocket roared off the pad at Cape Canaveral Area Drive Station after a number of days of climate delays. On board the New Glenn is NASA’s Escapade mission, twin orbiters designed to review Mars’ higher ambiance and magnetic fields.

Probably the most groundbreaking second got here minutes after the launch.

Because the higher stage continued towards area, the first-stage booster separated and returned safely to Earth, touching down upright on Blue Origin’s offshore barge, named Jacklyn after Bezos’ mother. The profitable restoration drew cheers from mission management and marked an important milestone in Blue Origin’s push to make its rockets reusable.

“Subsequent cease, moon!” workers may be seen chanting within the livestream video because the booster landed towards the Atlantic horizon.

The profitable restoration is a primary for New Glenn and comes practically a 12 months after the booster missed its recovery try in January. The breakthrough brings Blue Origin nearer to rivaling SpaceX’s reusable rockets.

After the launch, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp congratulated the crew and shared close-up nonetheless photographs from the launch and the restoration.

The Escapade satellites will spend the subsequent 12 months orbiting close to Earth earlier than slinging towards Mars in 2026. They’re anticipated to reach in 2027, the place they’re going to start mapping how photo voltaic winds strip away the Martian ambiance, which might provide insights that would assist NASA plan for future astronaut missions.

To see the total New Glenn launch, go to the Blue Origin livestream right here: