According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the rocket is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in Florida at 1:00 a.m. (local time, 7:00 a.m. CET). So far, commercial space travel has been dominated by Musk’s company SpaceX.
- From the archive: SpaceX rocket tore hole in upper atmosphere when exploded
Blue Origin has not yet officially confirmed Wednesday as the launch date. “Next stop: launch,” Bezos announced on the online service X and published a video in which the rocket’s powerful engines can be heard. On December 27th, the rocket had already successfully completed the decisive test before the first test flight.
New orbital vehicle for satellites
On its first flight, the New Glenn will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a U.S. Department of Defense-funded spacecraft designed to launch satellites into space.
With New Glenn, Blue Origin has made its long-awaited entry into the lucrative market for orbital rockets. So far, the company has only carried passengers and payloads on short trips to the edge of space with its smaller New Shepard suborbital rocket.
The higher, the more lucrative
“The market is truly orbital,” says Laura Forczyk, founder of consulting firm Astralytical. “Suborbital only gets you so far – there are only so many payloads and customers for a quick flight into space.”
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Image: (APA/AFP/MICHAEL M. SANTIAGO)
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