Space company of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos calls off debut launch of new rocket
Blue Origin Postpones Debut Launch of New Glenn Rocket Due to Technical Issue
Blue Origin had to call off the debut launch of its massive new rocket, the New Glenn, early Monday morning due to technical trouble. The 98-metre rocket was set to take off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station with a prototype satellite, but an unspecified issue arose in the final minutes of the countdown, forcing launch controllers to halt the process and drain all the fuel from the rocket.
The company has not yet announced a new launch date, as they need more time to resolve the problem that caused the delay. This setback comes after the test flight was already postponed once due to rough seas that could have jeopardized the landing of the first-stage booster on a floating platform in the Atlantic.
New Glenn, named after the first American to orbit Earth, John Glenn, is significantly taller than Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket, which is used to carry paying customers to the edge of space from Texas.
Blue Origin, founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos 25 years ago, had Bezos himself participating in Monday’s countdown from Mission Control at the rocket factory near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Bezos expressed his determination by stating, “No matter what happens, we’re going to pick ourselves up and keep going.”