Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launch: how and when to watch

Blue Origin is gearing up for its biggest launch ever, but on Monday morning the effort was scrapped for technical reasons after several delays during the three-hour launch window. The window originally opened at 1AM ET. It’s unclear when the commercial space company owned by Jeff Bezos will attempt to send the 320-foot-tall New Glenn rocket into space for the first time. The launch of New Glenn comes after almost a decade of development, and the results could threaten the dominance of Elon Musk’s SpaceX – not only in the commercial space industry but also in the satellite internet business. Here’s an overview of what you need to know about the New Glenn flight and how to watch it live. What is New Glenn, and why is it important? and, in winter, people go places. New Glenn is named after John Glenn, the first NASA astronaut to enter Earth orbit. The first stage is powered by seven powerful BE-4 engines from Blue Origin, which run on liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. Blue Origin aims to reuse New Glenn’s first stage for at least 25 missions, as it is designed to touch down vertically on a sea-based platform after launch, allowing the company to retrieve it. It can deliver 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit and 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit. Blue Origin says New Glenn is also “designed with the safety and redundancy necessary for human flight.” Although Blue Origin originally planned to launch New Glenn in 2020, the inaugural flight has been pushed back due to problems with the development of the BE-4 engine and other technical mishaps. As shown by NPR, New Glenn has the same carrying capacity as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket, but it stands out with a larger, 23-foot-wide cargo bay. If the New Glenn launch is successful, it could heat up competition with SpaceX as the two companies compete to secure lucrative government contracts. New Glenn is also key to Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite internet initiative. Although the company’s first satellite is scheduled to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket this year, Blue Origin will eventually launch its Project Kuiper satellite at New Glenn, competing with SpaceX’s Starlink. Amazon plans to send 3,236 Project Kuiper satellites into space, which is still fewer than the Starlink constellation of more than 6,000 satellites. What to expect from New Glenn’s first launchNew Glenn is set to take off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a three-hour launch window on January 13 at 1AM ET (10PM PT). The launch was originally scheduled for January 10, but was pushed back due to “high seas in the Atlantic”, first to January 12 and then to January 13 due to “still unfavorable” conditions. The launch into orbit will be a success, everything else is a bonus. Image: Blue Origin During this unmanned launch, New Glenn will have the Blue Ring Pathfinder on board, a payload that includes communications arrays, power systems, and flight computers. It will test the company’s Blue Ring spacecraft, which will help support the mission with refueling, hosting, data relay, and cloud computing capabilities. The goal is for New Glenn to reach orbit, while “anything beyond that,” like landing a reusable booster, is a “bonus,” according to Blue Origin CEO David Limp. The Blue Ring Pathfinder will enter New Glenn for the first time. start. Image: Blue Origin “This is our first flight and we are very prepared,” Jarrett Jones, New Glenn’s senior vice president, said in a statement. “But no ground test or mission simulation is a substitute for flying this rocket. It’s time to fly. Whatever happens, we will learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to the next launch. The YouTube stream is attached at the top of this article. Update 13 January: It is noted that the launch has been scrubbed.

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