Challenging Musk's Falcon-9, Bezos' New Glenn seeks Dec launch: Details

Private space company Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is planning to launch its heavy-lift booster rocket, New Glenn in December this year, according to US media reports. Although Blue Origin has not announced any official launch date, the company, on November 23 stacked the vehicle at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, indicating the possible launch in coming days.

 

For the past five years, Blue Origin has announced the multiple launch date of New Glenn, but due to slow development and manufacturing process, the launch kept on delaying. These significant delays have also led the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) to postpone its two space missions, which were supposed to board New Glenn’s inaugural flight.

 

 

What is New Glenn?

 

Named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, this reusable launch vehicle stands 98 meters tall, making it one of the largest rockets ever built.

 

It is a two-stage booster with a reusable first stage that will land vertically after stage separation. The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, which use liquid oxygen and methane for propellant. The second stage utilises two smaller BE-3U engines, which are powered by liquid oxygen and hydrogen.

 

New Glenn is expected to place around 45,360 kilograms of payload into Earth orbit and a 6,800 kg payload on a trajectory to the Moon.  "It is designed to accommodate a variety of payloads and destinations to meet the broadest range of customer needs, and significantly reduce cost per launch," the company said in a statement.

 

Its first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 flights. "By operating like a commercial airliner (but with cleaner fuel), New Glenn will lead to significantly less waste and cost," the statement said.

 

New Glenn vs  Elon Musk's Falcon-9

 

New Glenn is similar to its main competitor, SpaceX's Falcon-9, with some differences. Glenn has six extendable landing legs that would deploy just before touchdown, Falcon-9, on the other hand, has four legs. That is expected to help Glenn in a more stable landing.

 

SpaceX currently lands its rockets on drone ships, but Blue Origin plans a mobile, sea-based platform for New Glenn to land. The current landing platform ship for New Glenn, Jacklyn (named after Bezos’ mother), measures an impressive 115 meters by 45 meters size, which is larger than the platforms used by Musk's SpaceX.

 

New Glenn is designed in two- or three-stage variants with a fully reusable first-stage booster. The two-stage version is 82 meters tall, while the three-stage variant is 95 m tall. On the other side, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket is between 63.7 m and 70 m tall, depending on its payload.

 

New orders for Glenn

 

Apart from Nasa, which is waiting to launch its two “smallsats” to Mars aboard New Glenn, the company has also got its first major customer, AST SpaceMobile. The company will use Glenn for its BlueBird satellites, scheduled to launch in 2025 and 2026 to provide direct space-to-cell-phone service.

 

With New Glenn's entry into the space market, a new rivalry is expected to begin between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Experts believe that New Glenn's larger fairing provides more volume for bulky payloads, which can be advantageous in some missions. Use of LNG fuel also gives an environmental advantage to New Glenn over Falcon Heavy's RP-1 kerosene.