Blue Origin to attempt to land New Glenn rocket’s first stage in late spring

SpaceX’s potential competitor Blue Origin hopes to conduct a second test launch of its new heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn, later this spring. The rocket launched on its maiden flight on January 16, 2025. The program’s primary objective — launching the booster into orbit — was successfully accomplished, but the secondary objective — landing the returning first stage on a barge in the ocean — failed. However, the company expects to solve this problem soon.

Image source: Blue Origin

As is known, only three of the seven BE-4 engines were able to restart when the first stage of the New Glenn rocket returned to the barge. The fact that even a partial restart of the engines is noteworthy. The company does not disclose why all the engines did not start. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp reported that “something happened” with the engines. According to him, the possible cause of the problem lies in the “tank-engine” connection. However, the company has collected enough data to believe that the malfunction will be fixed by the next test launch.

It is possible that by the second flight the company will be able to find a customer to deliver the payload into orbit. If this does not happen, a mass-dimensional mock-up will be sent into space. The second rocket is already being assembled, and there is a high probability that it will launch in late spring. Blue Origin considers the first three flights to be part of the experimental design work and sees no reason to worry if something does not go according to plan. The main thing is that the new heavy rocket is already flying and is getting closer to creating real competition for SpaceX.