New Glenn’s flight vehicle upended at LC-36. Image: Blue Origin
The team are currently reviewing opportunities for another launch attempt.
Technical issues have led to the postponement of the Jeff Bezos-backed Blue Origin rocket launch which was scheduled to launch today (13 January).
The goal had been for Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket, which has been 10 years in the making, to journey into orbit for the first time, while a booster detaches and lands at a platform situated in the Atlantic Ocean (which is named ‘Jacklyn’, after Jeff Bezos’ mother).
Blue Origin has not yet given a date for a new attempt to launch the rocket, which measures in at 320ft (98m) tall, making it almost as big as Saturn V, the last rockets NASA used before a general reduction in size was brought in across the board.
According to an update provided by Blue Origin, the team decided to stand down the launch attempt in order to “troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue”.
“We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt,” the company added.
Commenting before the launch, Blue Origin said that the rocket reaching orbit safely is its “key objective”, and that any success with landing the booster would be an added bonus.
This delay marks a blow for Bezos, who has set his sights on preparing his company to rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Bezos made headlines yesterday (12 January) when he said that he does not believe that Musk’s close working relationship with US president-elect Donald Trump would amount to an unfair advantage for his rival.
In recent years, NASA has asked both Blue Origin and SpaceX to develop lunar landers for cargo deliveries to the moon. And in November, it announced plans for at least two delivery missions to the moon with large cargo. However, the plans will not materialise for almost a decade.
Don’t miss out on the knowledge you need to succeed. Sign up for the Daily Brief, Silicon Republic’s digest of need-to-know sci-tech news.
