New Glenn

New Glenn
New Glenn debut on the launch pad, February 2024
FunctionHeavy-lift launch vehicle
ManufacturerBlue Origin
Country of originUnited States
Project costAt least US$2.5 billion[1]
Cost per launch$68 million[2]
Size
Height98 m (322 ft)[3]
Diameter7 m (23 ft)
Stages2
Capacity
Payload to LEO
Mass45,000 kg (99,000 lb)[4][5]
Payload to GTO
Mass13,600 kg (30,000 lb)[4][5]
Payload to TLI
Mass7,000 kg (15,000 lb)[6]
Associated rockets
Comparable
Launch history
StatusActive
Launch sitesCape Canaveral, LC‑36
Vandenberg, SLC‑9 (future)
First flightNET November 2024 (planned)[7]
Type of passengers/cargo
First stage – GS1
Height57.5 m (189 ft)
Diameter7 m (23 ft)
Powered by7 × BE-4
Maximum thrust17,100 kN (3,850,000 lbf)
PropellantLOX / CH4
Second stage – GS2
Height23.4 m (77 ft)
Diameter7 m (23 ft)
Powered by2 × BE-3U
Maximum thrust1,540 kN (346,000 lbf)
PropellantLOX / LH2
[edit on Wikidata]

New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin, named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth.[8] New Glenn is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 7 m (23 ft). Its first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines that are also designed and manufactured by Blue Origin. It is intended to launch from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36 (and eventually Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 9),[9] with the first stage landing on a barge called Landing Platform Vessel 1.[10][11] The inaugural vehicle was unveiled on the launch pad in February 2024.[12][13]

Development of the New Glenn rocket started before 2013 and was formally announced in 2016,[14][15] with an inaugural flight planned for 2020.[16] After multiple delays, as of October 2024, the first launch is expected to take place no earlier than November 2024, carrying a prototype Blue Ring spacecraft. This launch will also serve as a National Security Space Launch demonstration mission.[7]

Like the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle used for space tourism activities, the New Glenn's first stage has been designed to be reusable since its inception.[15] In 2021, the company started a program to make the second stage reusable as well, with the project codenamed Project Jarvis.[17] A first test tank for Project Jarvis was created in 2021.[18]

  1. ^ "Blue Origin Studying Repurposing of New Glenn Upper Stages". Space.com. 30 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Amazon signs massive rocket deal with 3 firms, including Bezos' Blue Origin, to launch internet satellites". CNBC. 5 April 2022.
  3. ^ "Inside look at the New Glenn 7 meter fairing". youtube.com. 3 March 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference aw20161012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Foust, Jeff (7 March 2017). "Eutelsat first customer for Blue Origin's New Glenn". SpaceNews. Archived from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Performance Website – Home".
  7. ^ a b "New Glenn Inaugural Flight". Next Spaceflight. 6 September 2024. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  8. ^ Chang, Kenneth (21 February 2024). "Jeff Bezos's Big Rocket Moves Into View and Closer to Launch – Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket rolled to the launchpad for a series of tests in preparation for its flight debut later this year". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  9. ^ "W10a" (PDF). California Coastal Commission. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  10. ^ "NEWS: Blue Origin's New Glenn landing barge is named Landing Platform Vessel 1".
  11. ^ Davenport, Justin (9 May 2024). "Space Coast looks toward the future with port and factory expansions". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Blue Origin Debuts New Glenn on Our Launch Pad".
  13. ^ Elizabeth Howell (23 February 2024). "Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket rises on launch pad ahead of debut liftoff (photo)". Space.com. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference blueorigin-about20130405 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference nsf20160912 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt20160912 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "Blue Origin picking up the pace at the Cape". 8 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference ars20210824 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).