blue Origin’s New Glenn Launch Scrubbed, But Reusable Rocket Race Heats Up
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – Blue Origin’s highly anticipated New Glenn rocket did not launch tonight as planned, delaying the company’s bid to become the second private entity capable of routinely launching reusable rockets for commercial missions. The launch was postponed due to pre-flight checks, according to Blue Origin.
While New Glenn remains grounded for now, the broader context is a rapidly evolving space launch market. Currently priced at approximately $69.85 million per flight (maintaining booster reusability, 2025 price list), New Glenn aims to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9, which costs around the same. Falcon Heavy flights are sporadically priced at $97 million (2022 pricing, with retained boosters). New Glenn’s potential price point of $68 million (Arianespace estimate, 2022) further underscores its competitive positioning. The rocket is designed to carry up to 45 tons to low Earth orbit and 13 tons to geostationary orbit, exceeding the capacity of most competitors – with the notable exception of SpaceX’s Starship.
This launch attempt marks a critical step for Blue Origin, as accomplished and repeatable booster landings are essential to realizing New Glenn’s cost-effectiveness. SpaceX has already proven the viability of reusable rocket technology with its Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy boosters. Blue Origin experienced a setback during its first flight test in December, when the New Glenn first stage crashed after separation, failing to land on the Jacklyn water platform off the Florida coast. A successful launch and landing today would establish the United States as the only nation with two operational, reusable launch providers, substantially increasing domestic launch capacity and possibly lowering costs for space access.
