First New Glenn Launch Planned for Friday
Launch Window Opens January 10 for Certification Flight
Update: 01/10/25
The first flight of New Glenn was delayed until no earlier than Sunday morning due to heavy seas on the Atlantic Ocean where the company hopes to land the booster on a barge. The company said on its website that the launch window will open at 0100 EST Sunday morning.
Original Story:
New Glenn’s inaugural mission (NG-1) is targeting no earlier than Friday, January 10, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. Blue Origin has announced that the three-hour launch window opens at 1 a.m. EST (0600 UTC). NG-1 is our first National Security Space Launch certification flight.
"It’s time to fly. No matter what happens, we’ll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch.”
Jarrett Jones, Blue Origin
The payload is our Blue Ring Pathfinder. It will test Blue Ring’s core flight, ground systems, and operational capabilities as part of the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Orbital Logistics prototype effort.
The key objective is to reach orbit safely. "We know landing the booster on our first try offshore in the Atlantic is ambitious—but we’re going for it," the company said in an online release.
“This is our first flight and we’ve prepared rigorously for it,” said Jarrett Jones, SVP, New Glenn. “But no amount of ground testing or mission simulations are a replacement for flying this rocket. It’s time to fly. No matter what happens, we’ll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch.”
Last month, the FAA issued a Part 450 commercial space launch license authorizing the first launch of the New Glenn vehicle. The FAA determined Blue Origin met all safety, environmental and other licensing requirements.
The license allows Blue Origin to conduct orbital missions from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with the reusable New Glenn first stage landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. It is valid for five years.