Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, will finally launch its first orbital-class rocket on Sunday, January 12, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The three-hour launch window for the mission, called NG-1, opens at 1 a.m. EST (6 a.m. GMT). Coverage will begin approximately one hour prior to launch. You can follow the livestream on Blue Origin’s YouTube channel or on the company’s website.
The flight was originally scheduled for Friday, January 10, but the company announced on X that the launch would be delayed because the Atlantic Ocean was too rough for booster recovery.
What to know about the launch
This first mission carries a test payload, called the Blue Ring Pathfinder. The objective is to check out its flight and operational capabilities as well as its ground systems, thanks to an onboard communications array, power systems, and a flight computer. This demonstration spacecraft is a prototype for the company’s Blue Ring platform, which will be able to deliver multiple payloads to orbit from other companies and provide logistics and operations services in space.
The total mission time will be around six hours.
Blue Origin will also attempt to land the first stage of the rocket on a recovery vessel in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. However, that is a secondary objective. The primary goal is simply to launch New Glenn successfully and certify the rocket to launch payloads related to national security.
A long road to first launch
The road to New Glenn’s first launch has been long. While the company has been launching its suborbital rocket and spacecraft New Shepard regularly since 2015, it has yet to launch a rocket that can reach orbit.
New Glenn was first announced in 2016 as a heavy-lift rocket. However, Blue Origin’s balancing of multiple priorities—from a lunar lander to Orbital Reef, a possible replacement for the International Space Station—has contributed to significant delays in getting New Glenn ready for launch.
Once operational, New Glenn will compete with other heavy-lift rockets such as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy and ULA’s Vulcan Centaur (which is also powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines) for commercial, civil, and military contracts.
