May 28, 2019 - Science

Everything you need to know about Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos. (Photo: Brent Lewis/The Denver Post via Getty Images)

New Glenn is one of two key rockets that are a part of Blue Origin's arsenal.

Why it matters: Jeff Bezos' private space company wants to use the rocket to drive down the cost of bringing large payloads to orbit.

Key details about New Glenn
  • Projected launch date: 2021
  • Height: 270 ft.
  • Engines: 7 reusable BE-4 LOX/LNG engines
  • Launch site: Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida
  • Jobs: The project has created 330 jobs with an average annual salary of $90,000, per the Orlando Business Journal.
  • Investment: $2.5 billion to date
  • Supported payload weight: 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit, 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit
  • Customers (to date): Eutelsat, OneWeb, mu Space, SKY Perfect JSAT and Telesat
  • Namesake: John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth
Other facts about New Glenn
  • The rocket's first stage is built to be reusable for 25 missions, per Blue Origin, in line with one of the company's goals to drive down the cost of access to space.
  • It will be designed to launch and land in 95% of weather conditions.
  • During liftoff, when the rocket's two stages separate, the first flies back to Earth and lands on a moving ship.
  • Its fairing has double the usable volume of any "existing launch vehicle," according to Blue Origin.

Blue Origin's simulation of a New Glenn flight:

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