New Glenn
Launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin, named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth.[6] New Glenn is a two-stage rocket with a diameter of 7 m (23 ft). Its first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines that are also designed and manufactured by Blue Origin. It launches from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36, with the first stage landing on a barge in Port Canaveral.[7]The inaugural vehicle was unveiled on the launch pad in February 2024.[8][9]
Function | Reusable orbital launcher |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
Country of origin | United States |
Project cost | At least $2.5 Billion[1] |
Size | |
Height | 98 m (322 ft) [2] |
Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
Stages | 2 |
Capacity | |
Payload to low Earth orbit (LEO) | |
Mass | 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) [3][4] |
Payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) | |
Mass | 13,600 kg (30,000 lb) [3][4] |
Associated rockets | |
Comparable | |
Launch history | |
Status | In development |
Launch sites | Cape Canaveral, LC-36 Vandenberg Space Force Base |
First flight | Planned: September 2024[5] |
First stage – GS1 | |
Height | 57.5 m (189 ft) |
Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
Powered by | 7 × BE-4 |
Maximum thrust | 17.1 MN (3,850,000 lbf) |
Propellant | CH4 / LOX |
Second stage – GS2 | |
Height | 16.1 m (53 ft) tank section, 23.4 m (77 ft) including the two high expansion ratio nozzle BE-3Us |
Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
Powered by | 2 × BE-3U |
Maximum thrust | 1,400 kN (320,000 lbf) |
Propellant | LH2 / LOX |
Development of the New Glenn rocket started before 2013 and was formally announced in 2016,[10][11] with an inaugural flight slated for 2020.[12] After multiple delays over five years, as of April 2024 the first launch is expected to take place no earlier than September 29, 2024, carrying NASA's EscaPADE spacecraft to Mars.[5] In May 2024, it was announced the spacecraft reached substantial completion in preparation for launch later in the year.[13]
Like the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle used for space tourism activities, the New Glenn's first stage has been designed to be reusable since its inception.[11] In 2021, the company started a program to make the second stage reusable as well, with the project codenamed Project Jarvis.[14] A first test tank was created in 2021.[15]