Blue Origin Delays Glenn Rocket's Second Flight to August

Blue Origin Delays New Glenn’s Second Flight to Mid-August

The anticipated second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has been postponed to no earlier than mid-August, according to CEO Dave Limp’s announcement on Monday via X.

This signifies a minor adjustment to the original timeline; Blue Origin had previously indicated a “late spring” target for the launch back in March.

First Launch and Subsequent Investigation

New Glenn’s inaugural launch occurred on January 16th. Although the upper stage successfully achieved orbit, the booster stage experienced an anomaly and was lost during a landing attempt on a drone ship at sea.

Following the incident, Blue Origin identified “seven corrective actions” through an investigation overseen by the Federal Aviation Administration, as reported in March.

Recovery Efforts for the Booster Stage

Limp confirmed that the company intends to attempt recovery of the booster stage during the second flight of New Glenn.

The current target launch date is set for August 15th or later.

Development History and Competitive Landscape

Originally unveiled in 2016, New Glenn was initially planned for flight operations as early as 2021.

However, the program has faced numerous setbacks and delays.

Meanwhile, SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has established a dominant position in the launch services market and is actively developing its own large-scale rocket, Starship.