Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket reaches orbit in debut flight

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket reached orbit for the first time on Thursday, marking a significant milestone for Jeff Bezos’s company in the fiercely competitive commercial space race.

The achievement positions Blue Origin as a stronger contender against Elon Musk’s SpaceX, whose Falcon rockets have long dominated orbital launches with their reliability and reusability. The heavy-lift rocket launched from a spaceport in Florida and managed to reach orbit on its first attempt. The flight was broadcast live by the company on its social media channels.

Amazon founder Mr Bezos posted a video of the lift-off on X, and his competitor Elon Musk was also quick to post: “Congratulations on reaching orbit on the first attempt!” The rocket's name is a tribute to astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth.

There is strong demand in the launch industry for heavy-lift rockets – vehicles that are powerful enough to carry large satellites and space station modules into a variety of orbits. Only a limited number of these powerful rockets operate in the market, including the Falcon Heavy and the Space Launch System, developed by Boeing, Northrop Grumman and the United Launch Alliance for Nasa for flights to the Moon. China and Russia also have operational heavy-lift rockets.

“I think the most significant aspect about New Glenn now finally being close to ready is that both Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have very ambitious visions for space exploration,” Lin Kayser, co-founder of LEAP 71 – a Dubai company that develops artificial intelligence models to generate rocket engines, told The National in an earlier interview.

“Bezos’s dreams of a civilisation of trillions of humans living throughout the solar system seemed very disconnected from Blue Origin’s reality, despite significant funding. Now that working spacecraft are within reach, maybe we will see his company accelerate towards that vision.”

Blue Origin has already secured high-profile contracts for New Glenn, including 12 for Amazon's Project Kuiper satellite constellation. It also won the right to bid on $5.6 billion worth of US Space Force national security missions, along with SpaceX and United Launch Alliance.

The company already has its suborbital rocket New Shepard that it uses for space tourism flights. It has flown 38 passengers to the edge of space since 2021. It was also developing the Orbital Reef, a commercial space station in low-Earth orbit, with aerospace company Sierra Space, but the latest reports suggest that partnership could be in limbo.

"To be brutally clear, SpaceX, who routinely reuse boosters, and have much more advanced engine designs, and who are close to successfully qualifying [starting commercial operations with] Starship, are still a decade ahead of everyone else,” said Mr Kayser.

“The New Glenn’s capabilities compare favourably with Falcon Heavy, even though its engine design is still playing catch-up with SpaceX. The Vulcan, not being reusable, and which relies on the BE-4 engines that Blue Origin developed for New Glenn, is likely not going to hold up to the competition.”

Anna Hazlett, founder of AzurX, a UAE-based private advisory and investment firm specialising in the space sector, told The National that Blue Origin's achievement could also benefit the Middle East's space sector.

"With its ability to carry larger payloads, New Glenn offers transformative opportunities for the Middle East’s rapidly expanding space sector, supporting critical initiatives in Earth observation, communications and space exploration," said Ms Hazlett.

"This launch capability will provide regional stakeholders with greater flexibility and expanded options for space transportation.

"Having worked alongside various teams and programmes at Blue Origin since 2021, we are excited about the opportunities this milestone will unlock for the company and its customers."