Blue Origin is making strides towards reusability with its upcoming New Glenn rocket, aiming to follow in the footsteps of SpaceX. The company has released a video showcasing a test of the landing legs that will be attached to the New Glenn’s first stage. The video highlights the deployment of these legs, which will be crucial for the rocket’s ability to return to Earth and be reused for multiple missions, significantly reducing launch costs. The landing legs will emerge at the base of the rocket in the final moments before touchdown, enabling a gentle landing on a landing vessel at sea. “We recently completed New Glenn’s first-stage test of its six landing legs — a key area for reusability, which lowers the cost of access to space,” Blue Origin stated on X. While Blue Origin has experience with landing its single-stage suborbital New Shepard rocket, the New Glenn represents a significantly more complex endeavor. This two-stage rocket, towering at 320 feet tall, will soar far higher than the New Shepard. The New Glenn’s payload fairing, with a volume twice that of standard commercial launch systems, is described by Blue Origin as “large enough to hold three school buses.” The New Glenn has a busy schedule ahead. Over the coming years, it will be employed for as many as 27 missions to launch Amazon’s Project Kuiper internet satellites, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink service. Additionally, it will carry commercial payloads and other organizations’ satellites, with lunar missions also included in the plans. Following a series of delays, the New Glenn’s inaugural launch is scheduled for no earlier than September 29, 2024, carrying NASA’s EscaPADE spacecraft to Mars. This event marks a significant milestone for Blue Origin as it enters the realm of larger, more complex spaceflight operations.
Blue Origin Tests Landing Legs for Reusable New Glenn Rocket
