Blue Origin's first orbital launch now targeting Sunday
by AFP Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Jan 9, 2025

US space company Blue Origin is now aiming to launch its first orbital rocket on Sunday, it announced on X, because of rough seas in the Atlantic where it hopes to land the first stage booster on a ship.

A three-hour window opens Sunday at 1:00 am (0600 GMT) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Standing 320 feet (98 meters) tall, New Glenn is named after astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.

The mission, designated NG-1, will carry a prototype of Blue Ring, a US Defense Department-funded spacecraft envisioned as a versatile satellite deployment platform, which will remain on board the rocket's second stage for the duration of the six-hour test flight.

It will mark Blue Origin's long-awaited entry into the lucrative orbital launch market after years of suborbital flights with its smaller New Shepard rocket, which carries passengers and payloads on brief trips to the edge of space.

The milestone is also poised to escalate the rivalry between Jeff Bezos, owner of Blue Origin and the world's second-richest person, and Elon Musk, the wealthiest, whose company SpaceX dominates the commercial space industry.

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