Blue Origin is preparing to make its first launch of the New Glenn partially reusable rocket. We tell you about the upcoming flight plan and where you can watch it live.
Technical design of New Glenn
The New Glenn rocket has been under development by Blue Origin engineers since the early 2010s. It has a two-stage design. It is 98 meters high and has a diameter of seven meters.
The rocket’s first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines that use methane as propellant and liquid oxygen as oxidizer. The second stage is equipped with two BE-3U engines powered by a mixture of liquid hydrogen and oxygen. New Glenn will be able to launch up to 45 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit and 13 tons into geo-transit orbit.
The first stage of the New Glenn is reusable. After separation, it will land on a barge in the ocean, similar to the Falcon 9 first stage. According to the designers, the stage can be used up to 25 times.
Flight plan
During its first mission, New Glenn will not launch satellites into orbit. But the rocket does carry a payload: a prototype of the Blue Ring satellite platform. It is designed as a versatile vehicle that will be able to perform many different tasks, from an orbital refueler and thruster to a data relay. The prototype will not separate from the second stage of New Glenn. After several orbits around the Earth, they will be deorbited and burn up in the atmosphere.
The flight will also test telemetry transmission and control systems in space, as well as ground-based radiometric tracking equipment. In addition, Blue Origin will attempt to land the first stage of New Glenn. It will land on the Jacklyn barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
Live broadcast of the New Glenn launch
New Glenn will be launched from the LC-36 launch pad at Cape Canaveral. The three-hour ballistic window will open on January 13 at 06:00 a.m. UST (01:00 a.m. New York). The launch will be broadcast live on the Blue Origin website. Alternative broadcasts will be available on Youtube.
Since this is the debut flight of a completely new rocket, it is now quite difficult to make any predictions about its outcome. Also keep in mind that it took SpaceX many attempts before it managed to perfect the landing procedure for the first stages of its rockets. But if Blue Origin manages to be successful the first time around, it will mean that the launch market will have a carrier capable of competing with Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.
