Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, postponed the much-anticipated maiden launch of its New Glenn rocket on Monday (Jan 13) due to last-minute technical problems. The launch, scheduled for 08:15 GMT, was called off just six minutes before the liftoff.
Timeline of what happened?
The New Glenn rocket, which has been developing for a decade, was set to launch from Florida during a three-hour window that opened at 06:00 GMT (01:00 local time). Earlier attempts had already been delayed due to unfavourable sea conditions.
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This mission was a significant milestone for Blue Origin, as the rocket was expected to reach orbit for the first time. Additionally, its reusable booster was designed to detach and land on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
Blue Origin describes New Glenn as a "giant, reusable rocket" designed for human space travel. However, at approximately 07:20 GMT, a spokesperson reported "a few anomalies" the team was working to resolve.
Following several countdown resets, the decision was made to cancel the launch for the day.
A Blue Origin spokesperson cited a "vehicle subsystem issue" as the reason for the delay, explaining that additional time was needed to troubleshoot the problem. A new date for the launch has not yet been announced.
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Why was the launch called off?
Blue Origin posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will take us beyond our launch window. We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt.”
During a live stream, a Blue Origin spokeswoman said that the postponement was necessary to give the team more time to address the technical issues. She added, “When we know when the next opportunity is, of course, we will let everybody know.”
Earlier in the scheduled launch period, she explained that engineers were “working through a few anomalies” and controllers were exploring possible solutions.
She said, “What people may not realise is that much of what we do in pre-launch procedures is scripted and planned. However, when unexpected issues arise, our team manually operates the systems to resolve them.”
(With inputs from agencies)