Watch Blue Origin’s New Glenn recap, with close-ups of rocket launch

Blue Origin has just released a video recap (above) of last week’s successful maiden launch of its heavy-lift rocket, the New Glenn. The footage shows some dramatic close-ups of the 98-meter-tall rocket leaving the launchpad, with its seven BE-4 engines creating nearly 4 million pounds of thrust as it headed toward orbit from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida last Thursday. The New Glenn’s upper stage successfully completed two burns of its BE-3U engines to carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload into orbit while remaining attached to the upper stage. The Blue Ring Pathfinder tested key technologies for the upcoming Blue Ring spacecraft and included a communications array, power system, and flight computer. While the main goal of reaching orbit was accomplished, an attempt to land the reusable first stage on a floating platform stationed off the coast of Florida proved unsuccessful. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is designed to be partially reusable, with the Jeff Bezos-led company aiming to launch, land, and reuse each booster up to 25 times. Blue Origin’s mission was significant as it marked its entry into the orbital launch market, positioning it to compete with established players such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX spaceflight company. Following the New Glenn’s launch, Bezos posted a message on X saying: “So much heart, sweat, persistence. Huge congrats and kudos team Blue!” Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of New Glenn, said the mission ushered in “a new era for Blue Origin and for commercial space,” adding that his team is now focused on ramping up its launch cadence and rocket-building rate. The next New Glenn flight is scheduled for the spring and will build on the lessons learned from the first mission. A key objective for the upcoming mission will be to successfully land the returning first-stage booster, allowing it to be used for multiple flights. UPDATE: Following Monday morning’s scrubbed launch attempt of the New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin is now targeting Thursday, January 16, for liftoff. More details below. Blue Origin, the spaceflight company set up by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is about to perform the first launch of its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. Blue Origin is targeting New Glenn’s inaugural mission (NG-1) for no earlier than Friday, January 10. It will launch from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, the company announced on Monday. The three-hour launch window opens at 1 a.m. ET (10 p.m. PT on Thursday, January 9). Last year was a busy one for space missions, and 2025 looks set to be no different. The continued development of new rockets will feature heavily over the next 12 months. Heading into the new year, SpaceX, for example, is aiming to really ramp up the launch rate of its next-generation Starship rocket.