Blue Origin’s New Glenn Reaches Orbit on First Flight

Futuramic AdminNews, Rocket Launch

New Glenn at liftoff during the NG-1 mission.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn successfully reached orbit during its NG-1 mission on January 16, 2025, marking a major milestone for the heavy-lift launch vehicle. Lifting off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, New Glenn’s seven BE-4 engines powered its ascent, followed by two successful burns from the BE-3U upper stage. While the booster was lost during descent, the primary objective—achieving orbit—was accomplished.

“I’m incredibly proud New Glenn achieved orbit on its first attempt,” said Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin. “We’ll learn from this mission and aim to land the booster on our next launch this spring.”

New Glenn at liftoff during the NG-1 mission.

New Glenn at liftoff during the NG-1 mission. January 16, 2025. Image credit: Blue Origin

New Glenn is a key component of Blue Origin’s spaceflight ambitions, supporting missions for NASA’s Artemis program, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, and national security objectives. The rocket will also deliver the Blue Moon Mark 1 cargo lander and Mark 2 crewed lander to the Moon. With multiple vehicles in production and a growing manifest of customers, Blue Origin is ramping up its launch cadence and manufacturing capabilities to advance the future of commercial spaceflight.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn on the Launch Pad for Historic Testing and Launch.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn on the Launch Pad for Historic Testing and Launch. November 23, 2024.

 Blue Origin NG-1 Launch Recap

About New Glenn

New Glenn is Blue Origin’s reusable heavy-lift rocket, designed to carry payloads and astronauts to a variety of orbits and deep space destinations. Named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth, the rocket is central to Blue Origin’s commercial space ambitions and future lunar missions under NASA’s Artemis program. With multiple vehicles in production and a growing manifest of commercial and government customers, New Glenn is set to play a significant role in the future of aerospace, space transportation, and lunar exploration.

About Blue Origin

Blue Origin was founded by Jeff Bezos with the vision of enabling a future where millions of people are living and working in space for the benefit of Earth. The company operates the suborbital New Shepard rocket and the heavy-lift New Glenn rocket. In addition to producing engines for its own rockets, Blue Origin supplies engines for other vehicles, including United Launch Alliance‘s Vulcan Centaur. It is also working on the Blue Moon human lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis program, the Blue Ring spacecraft platform, and the Orbital Reef space station in partnership with other organizations.