Blue Origin's Big Step: New Glenn Rocket Lands Safely After Mars Mission

Blue Origin, a company started by Jeff Bezos over 25 years ago, achieved a major milestone on Thursday. Their massive New Glenn rocket, standing 18 stories tall, successfully landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean. This landing happened nine minutes after the rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 3:55 pm EST (20:55 UTC). The launch was delayed from Sunday due to bad weather and a solar storm. The rocket carried two NASA science probes on a two-year journey to Mars. This was the first time operational satellites flew on Blue Origin’s new rocket, named after the late NASA astronaut John Glenn. The rocket's engines, using super-cold liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen, produced over 3. 8 million pounds of thrust. After reaching an altitude of 79 miles, the booster began its descent, targeting a landing on Blue Origin’s recovery vessel named Jacklyn. This success is a big deal for Blue Origin, which has struggled to keep up with SpaceX in the commercial launch business. SpaceX has landed 532 boosters, while Blue Origin has now landed one orbital-class booster and 34 suborbital New Shepard rockets. The company plans to reuse the same booster next year for the first launch of the Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar cargo lander. The mission wasn't just about the landing. The second stage of the rocket fired its engines twice to propel itself toward deep space. It deployed NASA’s two ESCAPADE satellites, which will study how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ atmosphere. Scientists believe this interaction helped turn Mars from a warm, habitable world into a global desert. The ESCAPADE mission, developed and launched on a budget of about $80 million, is a bargain compared to other Mars missions. NASA paid Blue Origin about $20 million for the launch, taking a risk by using the relatively unproven New Glenn rocket. The satellites will loiter in a unique orbit until next November, when they will head to Mars and begin their science mission in 2028. This achievement opens a new era for Blue Origin and the industry, as they aim to launch, land, and reuse rockets repeatedly. It’s a significant step in understanding Mars’ environment and preparing for future human missions to the red planet.