Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon founder and billionaire Jeff Bezos, achieved one of the biggest successes in its history on Thursday. The company’s New Glenn rocket, which is powerful enough to send satellites into space, made its first launch and successfully reached orbit.
The launch took place a few minutes after 2 a.m. (ET) from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The rocket was equipped with a demonstration technology called the “Blue Ring Pathfinder”, which was safely delivered into orbit, making the mission a success.
However, Blue Origin failed to meet its bonus target. They attempted to land the rocket’s first stage booster safely on a platform built on the sea. A recovery process was developed to make the booster reusable, which SpaceX has been doing successfully for their Falcon rockets.
The process of projection:
When the countdown reached zero, New Glenn’s seven powerful engines kicked into action and the rocket took off from the launch pad. The first stage of the rocket, which is the lower part, operated for about three minutes and then separated from the second stage.
The first stage booster was attempting to land on an offshore platform named “Jacklin”, but lost live data contact with the booster during landing. It was later confirmed that this booster was lost.
SpaceX has successfully developed such technology for the Falcon 9 rocket, but failed four initial attempts. Hence, this effort by Blue Origin is seen as an important step forward.
Next journey to New Glen:
After launch, New Glenn’s second stage continued its journey into orbit with the Blue Ring demonstration technology. The rocket separates its shell after reaching space, which protects the satellites during launch. The second stage reached orbital speed, i.e. more than 17,000 miles per hour, with its engines running.
The Blue Ring Pathfinder will remain attached to the rocket’s second stage during launch. This technology is considered important for future satellite missions.
Future plans and importance:
The successful launch of New Glen marks the start of an exciting year for Blue Origin. NASA plans to use this rocket for two Mars missions. In addition, New Glen will be used to launch Amazon’s fleet of Internet satellites as well as space-based broadband satellites.
The Blue Ring technology will act as an “in-space Uber” to transport satellites into space in the future, allowing satellites to be transported deeper into space. This technology will make it possible to change the destination of satellites and improve their performance.
Blue Origin says the rocket is capable of carrying satellites weighing up to 3,000 kg. Apart from this, an agreement has also been signed with the US Department of Defense for Blue Ring technology.
Blue Origin’s success is expected to open up new opportunities for space exploration and satellite launch.