New Glenn Mission NG-1 Now Planned for Early Thursday
Mission has Been Scrubbed Several Times for Weather, Tech Reasons
Blue Origin is now targeting 0100 EST Thursday for the initial launch of its New Glenn orbital-class rocket.
“This is our first flight and we’ve prepared rigorously for it.”
Jarrett Jones, Blue Origin
The initial flight has been postponed several times since Blue Origin was granted a launch license by the FAA in late December. Earlier in the week, the launch was scrubbed due to poor weather conditions in the Atlantic Ocean where the company hopes to recover the booster on a barge, much like SpaceX has done multiple times in the past. The most recent scrub was caused by ice forming in a purge line on an auxiliary power unit that powers some of the New Glenn hydraulic systems.
NG-1 is the first National Security Space Launch certification flight for the new rocket. The payload is the Blue Ring Pathfinder, which 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 company said its key objective is to reach orbit safely. Recovering the booster is a secondary objective, but it is part of the overall flight plan
“This is our first flight and we’ve prepared rigorously for it,” Jarrett Jones, SVP, New Glenn, said before the first launch attempt last week. “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.”