Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket from Florida on its first mission for paying customers. The rocket carried two NASA satellites towards Mars and achieved a significant milestone by successfully landing its reusable booster for the first time.
The New Glenn rocket, a powerful two-stage vehicle, took off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, marking Blue Origin’s first mission since the inaugural flight of NG-1 in January 2025. This launch delivered Blue Origin’s first science payload into space for NASA, positioning the company to compete with SpaceX in the rocket launch industry.
After several delays due to adverse weather conditions, the rocket launched smoothly, with its engines roaring to life. The New Glenn booster successfully landed on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, a key achievement in the quest for reusability, following a failed landing attempt in January.
The mission control center at Cape Canaveral erupted in cheers as the booster landed, named “Never Tell Me the Odds” in a nod to a line from Star Wars. The upper stage of the rocket deployed NASA’s twin EscaPADE spacecraft into space, beginning their journey to Mars for a space weather environment study.
The two NASA spacecraft, Blue and Gold, will reach Mars in 2027 to study the planet’s space weather environment. The instruments onboard will analyze interactions between solar winds and the Martian magnetic field to understand their impact on the Martian atmosphere.
The New Glenn rocket also carried a secondary payload for Viasat, demonstrating in-space communication relay capabilities. Blue Origin’s focus on developing the New Glenn rocket aims to establish it as a reliable vehicle for launching people and cargo into orbit, competing with SpaceX’s Falcon rockets.
Blue Origin’s efforts in space exploration include supplying engines for other rockets and working on projects like a crewed moon lander for NASA. Despite its progress, Blue Origin faces stiff competition from SpaceX, which has a robust history of rocket launches and ambitious projects like the Starship rocket for missions to the moon and Mars.