Blue Origin Launches New Glenn Rocket with NASA Spacecraft, Reviving Lunar Ambitions
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Jeff Bezos’s space company, Blue origin, successfully launched its New Glenn rocket today, carrying two NASA spacecraft destined for Mars. The launch marks a pivotal moment for Blue Origin,which has faced delays in bringing the larger New Glenn online,and reignites competition in the race to return humans to the Moon and explore beyond.
Named after john Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, the New Glenn is substantially more powerful than Blue Origin’s new Shepard rockets, boasting five times the size. A key component of the mission involves a demonstration flight of the Blue Moon lunar lander, slated to launch onboard the New Glenn in the coming months.
Blue Origin secured a NASA contract in 2000 to facilitate the third crewed lunar landing under the Artemis program. The company initially lost out on the first two landing contracts to Elon Musk’s SpaceX and its starship rocket – a vehicle nearly 100ft (30 meters) taller than the new Glenn.
However, NASA recently reopened bidding for the first crewed lunar landing, expressing concerns about the progress of SpaceX’s Starship flight tests. both Blue origin and SpaceX have since submitted revised, accelerated landing plans.
Despite the renewed focus on lunar missions, NASA remains on schedule to send astronauts around the Moon early next year using its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The agency is prioritizing a return to the lunar surface by the end of the decade, aiming to precede a potential Chinese lunar mission.
