Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket Successfully Reaches Orbit on First Attempt

Blue Origin achieved a significant milestone on Thursday with the successful launch of its New Glenn rocket on its inaugural flight. Named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, the 322-foot-tall rocket lifted off at 12:33 PM IST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder as its primary payload.

The mission control room erupted in cheers as the massive rocket ascended, leaving a trail of blue flames from its seven BE-4 engines. Blue Origin's founder, Jeff Bezos, stood alongside CEO David Limp, sharing videos of the thrilling launch. Limp also posted a video captioned, "We did it! Orbital. Great night for Team Blue. On to spring and trying again on the landing."

The primary mission objective was to safely reach orbit, which was accomplished successfully. By 12:46 PM, Blue Origin confirmed that New Glenn's second stage and the Blue Ring payload had reached orbit, and by 1:53 PM, the final target orbit was achieved. The company reported that Blue Ring was receiving data and functioning normally in space.

Although an attempt to land New Glenn’s first-stage booster, whimsically named "So You're Telling Me There's a Chance," on the droneship Jackelyn in the Atlantic Ocean was unsuccessful, the mission team celebrated their orbital achievement. The booster was lost during descent, but Limp expressed optimism, stating, “We knew landing our booster on the first try was ambitious. We’ll learn a lot from today and try again at our next launch this spring.”

Despite the setback, the successful orbital launch marked a significant achievement for Blue Origin. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk congratulated Bezos on the milestone, writing on X, "Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt."