{"id":17079,"date":"2025-11-14T01:49:36","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:49:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-launches-twin-probes-on-trip-to-mars-and-scores-a-booster-touchdown\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T01:49:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:49:36","slug":"blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-launches-twin-probes-on-trip-to-mars-and-scores-a-booster-touchdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-launches-twin-probes-on-trip-to-mars-and-scores-a-booster-touchdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket launches twin probes on trip to Mars \u2014 and scores a booster touchdown"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (Blue Origin Photo via Dave Limp \/ X)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture sent twin orbiters on the first leg of their journey to Mars today, marking a successful sequel to January\u2019s first liftoff of the company\u2019s heavy-lift New Glenn launch vehicle.<\/p>\n

The trouble-free launch of NASA\u2019s Escapade probes, plus today\u2019s first-ever recovery of a New Glenn booster, bolstered Blue Origin\u2019s status as a worthy competitor for Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX, which has come to dominate the space industry. SpaceX is the only other company to bring back an orbital-class booster successfully.<\/p>\n

Even Musk recognized the achievement: \u201cCongratulations @JeffBezos and the @BlueOrigin team!\u201d he wrote in a posting to X \/ Twitter, the social-media platform he owns.<\/p>\n

New Glenn \u2014 which is named after John Glenn, the first American to go into orbit \u2014 rose from its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:55 p.m. ET (12:55 p.m. PT). Today\u2019s liftoff followed attempts earlier this week that had to be scratched, initially due to cloudy weather on Earth, and then due to a solar storm in space.<\/p>\n

Even on the day of launch, the countdown had to be held and recycled a couple of times for unspecified reasons. But in the end, liftoff was gloriously nominal. <\/p>\n

Minutes after New Glenn rose into the sky, the mission plan called for the rocket\u2019s first-stage booster to fly itself back to a touchdown on a floating platform in the Atlantic that was named Jacklyn after Bezos\u2019 late mother. Blue Origin\u2019s first attempt to recover a New Glenn booster failed in January \u2014 but this time, the maneuver was successful. <\/p>\n

That achievement was greeted by wild cheers from Blue Origin team members watching the webcast, including Jeff Bezos at Mission Control and a crowd at the company\u2019s headquarters in Kent, Wash. The uncertainty about recovering the booster was reflected in the nickname it was given: \u201cNever Tell Me the Odds.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations, Team Blue \u2014 you guys did it!\u201d launch commentator Ariane Cornell, vice president of New Glenn strategy and business operations, said during the webcast. \u201cWhat an incredible day for Blue Origin, for the space industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cornell\u2019s co-host for the webcast, Tabitha Lipkin, was similarly enthused. \u201cI think I hurt my hand on the table banging too much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

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