Jeff Bezo stops New Glenn rocket launch due to countdown anomalies

• Published On: 14 January 2025 at 17:26

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' aerospace company, postponed the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Monday due to "a few anomalies" that arose during the mission countdown.

The inaugural flight, which was supposed to launch the 30-story rocket into orbit, has been postponed by at least a day, with more delays expected as engineers investigate the problem.

The partially reusable New Glenn rocket, powered by methane and liquid oxygen, was ready to launch from Blue Origin's launchpad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Originally scheduled for 1:00 a.m. ET (0600 GMT), the launch time was repeatedly pushed back during the countdown, eventually reaching the end of its launch window at 4:00 a.m.

In a statement, Blue Origin stated, "We're postponing today's launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will push us past our launch window. We're considering options for our next launch attempt."

The mission, which represents the culmination of over a decade of development and billions of dollars in investment, is viewed as a critical step for Blue Origin in competing with Elon Musk's SpaceX in the satellite launch industry.

The company intends to recover New Glenn's first-stage booster on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean, while the rocket's second stage continues into orbit.

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, acknowledged the difficulties of a first launch, saying, "Clearly on a first flight, you could have an anomaly at any mission phase, so anything could happen." He added that the primary focus is on the booster's safe landing, referring to its success as "icing on the cake."

The rocket's payload bay houses a prototype of Blue Ring, a manoeuvrable spacecraft designed for national security and satellite servicing missions. Achieving orbit on the first try would be a significant accomplishment, with Bezos calling it a "great success."

The New Glenn project has been repeatedly delayed as Blue Origin struggles to keep up with SpaceX's rapid advancements. The Falcon 9, SpaceX's flagship rocket, has become the industry standard for reusable spaceflight, completing numerous missions.

In late 2023, Bezos accelerated New Glenn's development by appointing Dave Limp, an Amazon veteran, as CEO to instill urgency in the project. New Glenn is twice as powerful as SpaceX's Falcon 9 and has secured billion-dollar launch contracts.