Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin has successfully landed the booster of its New Glenn mega-rocket on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean during its second attempt, making it the second company to achieve this milestone, following Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
This achievement positions the new rocket system as a viable option for launching larger payloads into space, the moon, and beyond.
Thursday’s launch was not just about the landing. Approximately 34 minutes after takeoff, the upper stage of New Glenn deployed its first commercial payload: twin spacecraft for NASA, which will study the atmosphere of Mars.
These accomplishments are impressive for only the second launch of such a massive rocket system. It also places Blue Origin in a competitive stance against SpaceX, which currently leads the launch market with its Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, and Starship rockets.
This feat is significant for the whole space industry, a sentiment echoed by SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell, who celebrated the achievement on social media site X with a simple “Magnificent!” Musk also offered his congratulations shortly after.
New Glenn’s first launch occurred in January, but Blue Origin faced several delays before the second rocket was ready. Initially, the company hoped to launch again in the spring but pushed back the timeline multiple times. Finally, New Glenn reached the launch pad on Sunday, only to be delayed further by weather and solar storms.
The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, at around 3:55 p.m. ET on Thursday. About four minutes into the flight, the second stage separated and continued its journey into space, while the New Glenn booster began its return to Earth. Approximately ten minutes after liftoff, the 189-foot-tall booster successfully landed on the platform.
Blue Origin had attempted to bring the New Glenn booster back during its first flight in January. Unfortunately, the booster exploded before it could land. Since then, Blue Origin collaborated with the Federal Aviation Administration to identify and implement several improvements to the rocket, boosting confidence for a successful landing on the second attempt.
Executing a successful landing is a critical step toward making the rocket system reusable, significantly reducing costs for customers—something SpaceX has perfected. Blue Origin will now need to demonstrate its ability to refurbish the rocket booster and launch it again.
These capabilities are vital for both commercial customers and government missions. Blue Origin has long set its sights on the moon and is actively developing a lunar lander, similar to SpaceX’s Starship. The government has tapped both companies to accelerate these programs, with acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy recently criticizing SpaceX for its slow progress.
In response to the urgency, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated his company “will move heaven and Earth” to help NASA return to the moon more swiftly. However, achieving this goal hinges on successfully proving all of New Glenn’s capabilities.
Thursday’s launch marked a significant step toward realizing that overarching objective.
