Blue Origin Delays The Launch Of The New Glenn Rocket Due To Technical Problems

The inaugural launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, was forced to be postponed after a number of "anomalies" were discovered during the mission countdown on Monday 13 January. This delay delayed at least a day the rocket's first attempt to reach orbit and competed with SpaceX in the satellite launch market.

The 30-story New Glenn rocket is on Blue Origin's launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, ready to take off which was originally scheduled for 01.00 ET (13.00 WIB) after being refueled with methane and liquid oxygen.

However, approaching launch time, Blue Origin repeatedly delayed the takeoff schedule, until it finally ran out of time in the launch window which ended at 04.00 ET. In the company's live broadcast, a spokesperson said the mission team was checking "some anomalies."

"We are halting today's launch attempt to resolve issues on one of the vehicle subsystems that took more time than the launch window," Blue Origin said in a statement. "We are reviewing opportunities for its next launch attempt."

This delay is expected to last at least 24 hours, but is likely longer as the company has to investigate the issues that arise in this high-risk mission.

This launch is the culmination of a decade-long development journey that cost billions of dollars. The mission includes efforts to land the first phase of the New Glenn rocket on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean 10 minutes after takeoff, while the second phase continues its journey into orbit.

Jeff Bezos admits the big challenge in this mission. "The thing we're most worried about is the booster landing," he said in an interview before launch. "On the first flight, an anomaly is likely to occur in every phase of the mission, so anything can happen."

Inside the New Glenn bay payload, there is the first prototype of Blue Ring vehicles, a maneuverable spacecraft designed to be sold to the Pentagon as well as commercial customers for national security missions and satellite service.

Getting targeted orbits in the rocket's premiere is a rare achievement for space companies. "If we could do it, it would be a huge success," Bezos said. "The booster landing will be a sweet complement."

The development of New Glenn has gone through three Blue Origin CEOs and faced various delays, while Elon Musk's SpaceX has grown into an industrial giant with a reusable Falcon 9 rocket.

At the end of 2023, Bezos accelerated his move on Blue Origin by prioritizing the development of his New Glenn and BE-4 engine. He appointed Dave Limp, an Amazon veteran, as the new CEO who employees say manages to bring an urgency to compete with SpaceX.

New Glenn has more than double SpaceX's Falcon 9 power and has pocketed dozens of customer launch contracts that are collectively worth billions of dollars.

If this launch is successful, it will be a big step for Blue Origin to face competition in the space industry.