Blue Origin, owned by Bezos, completes its first NASA launch mission; the "New Glenn" rocket booster lands safely.

Bezos’ Blue Origin LLC took a key step toward its space development goals on Thursday, successfully launching its orbital-class “New Glenn” rocket for the first time, carrying payloads into space, deploying two NASA probes headed to Mars, and landing its booster intact. Analysts say this marks a major breakthrough for Blue Origin in its competition with SpaceX. The rocket, roughly 320 feet (97.5 meters) tall, thundered off the launchpad at 3:55 pm Eastern time. Minutes after launch, the rocket’s lower and upper stages separated, with the upper stage proceeding deeper into space. The booster then returned to Earth, decelerating by reigniting its engines before successfully landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. At the moment the booster touched down on the ship, the mission control erupted in cheers and applause. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stood together amid an ecstatic team of employees. During the broadcast, Blue Origin launch host Tabitha Lipkin said: “We did it! We are officially in the race. We now have a reusable booster, and this is just the beginning.” Until now, only Elon Musk’s SpaceX had managed to vertically land boosters after orbital launches. **Analysts believe landing the booster is critical, as it enables the company to begin reusing boosters.** Reusability can increase launch frequency and positions Blue Origin to challenge SpaceX’s dominance in the rocket launch market. ## New Glenn Rocket Is Critical The New Glenn rocket is part of a new generation of launch vehicles, alongside United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and the European Space Agency’s Ariane 6. These rockets are considered key competitors in the future launch market, though all face challenges in increasing launch frequency. New Glenn is at the heart of Blue Origin’s ambitious deep-space plans, with roughly a decade spent on development. After its inaugural flight earlier this year, the rocket sat idle for nine months. The company is now striving for regular missions to clear backlogged customer orders and advance Bezos’ space ambitions. Scaling up new rocket launches is not easy—engineers and technicians must learn to build and manage these complex rockets. SpaceX launched Falcon 9 for the first time in June 2010; its second launch came about five months later, and the third not until 2012. This mission, called “Escapade,” was New Glenn’s second flight and the first to carry out a NASA mission. With its success, Blue Origin may challenge SpaceX’s leadership in the launch industry. The Falcon 9 remains the world’s most frequently launched rocket. Minutes after liftoff, Blue Origin deployed in space two probes built by Rocket Lab, which are headed to Mars to study interactions between the solar wind and Mars’ atmosphere. The probes will wait in a holding pattern in space before departing for Mars when Earth and Mars are closest next year, with arrival expected in 2027. This is the first time New Glenn has sent satellites for an external customer. NASA’s Escapade mission probes will study Mars’ atmosphere and magnetic field, and carry out additional measurements. The data is expected to help scientists understand why Mars lost its atmosphere, and will inform future crewed missions. ## Future Plans In January, Dave Limp said Blue Origin aimed for a second launch in late spring and a total of six to eight missions in 2025. During its first flight, New Glenn made orbital insertion, but its booster failed to land as planned. Earlier this year, Bezos told the media he hoped New Glenn’s development pace would accelerate, citing progress on engines and other rocket components. Bezos said at the time: “All these things are progressing together—it’s about ramping up production. That’s the key—it’s about machines building machines.” Future missions for New Glenn include launches for Amazon’s satellite internet constellation, and seven national security launches for the Pentagon. Blue Origin’s VP of New Glenn mission management, Laura Maginnis, declined at a Saturday briefing to disclose how many New Glenn launches are expected next year. She said: “We have a very full manifest ahead of us.” In early 2026, Blue Origin plans to send its own cargo ship to the Moon and attempt a surface landing. Executives describe this as a demonstration before flying customer missions to the lunar surface. This effort will also help advance Blue Origin’s development of a lunar lander for NASA astronauts. Both Blue Origin and SpaceX recently submitted proposals to NASA explaining how they could accelerate development of lunar landers capable of delivering astronauts to the Moon’s surface. No human has set foot on the Moon in more than 50 years. Blue Origin currently also flies tourists to the edge of space and back with smaller rockets, but New Glenn now allows it to send spacecraft and satellites into orbit and beyond. The rocket’s capacity is key for Blue Origin to deliver more than $10 billion in backlogged customer orders. --- Risk Warning and Disclaimer The market has risks, and investment must be prudent. This article does not constitute individual investment advice, nor does it take into account special investment objectives, financial situations, or needs of particular users. Users should consider whether any opinions, views or conclusions expressed in this article are suitable for their specific circumstances. Invest accordingly, at your own risk.