Blue Origin prepares for second New Glenn launch
The heavy-lift rocket New Glenn is ready for its second flight into space. Among other things, it is to launch a NASA Mars mission.
New Glenn during static fire test
(Image: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin is preparing for the next launch of its New Glenn. It will be the second launch of the heavy-lift rocket from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' space company.
The New Glenn will lift off no earlier than Sunday from the launch site in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Blue Origin announced via the X microblogging service on X. The launch window opens at 8:51 PM our time.
The rocket was $(LEhttps://x.com/blueorigin/status/1983340687086002571:brought to the launch pad|_blank) last Tuesday (October 28). The day after, it $(LEhttps://x.com/davill/status/1983721859452731702:was erected|_blank). A static engine test, according to Blue Origin, was successful: “All seven engines ran nominally during the 38-second test, with all seven engines operating at 100 percent thrust for 22 seconds.”
New Glenn is a two-stage rocket named after US astronaut John Glenn. Development began in the 2010s. It first flew in January of this year.
New Glenn can carry 45 tons into orbit
The heavy-lift rocket is almost 100 meters high and has a diameter of 7 meters. It can transport up to 45 tons into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or more than 13 tons into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) and is intended for both uncrewed and crewed missions, including to other celestial bodies.
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The rocket is partially reusable; according to the company, the first stage is expected to be able to complete at least 25 launches. For this, the first stage is to descend in a controlled manner and land on a floating platform. However, this did not succeed on its maiden flight in January because the booster's engines did not reignite. On the second attempt, the booster, named “Never Tell Me the Odds,” is supposed to land safely.
On its maiden flight, a prototype of the “Blue Ring” spacecraft, which is intended to carry satellites into space later, was on board. On the second flight, the New Glenn will also carry payloads into space: for the satellite communications company Viasat, it will carry a technology demonstrator on board. In addition, it will launch NASA's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission. It consists of two probes that, according to NASA, are intended to investigate how solar wind interacts with Mars' magnetic environment. This is expected to provide insights into the disappearance of the Martian atmosphere.
(wpl)
