Blue Origin successfully landed the first stage of its New Glenn rocket. It became only the second company in history to achieve this feat.
New Glenn was launched on November 13. It was the second one for this launch vehicle. During its first flight in January 2025, New Glenn successfully delivered its payload into orbit, but the attempt to return the stage ended in failure.
New Glenn engineers analyzed the data obtained during the first flight and made the necessary changes to the rocket’s design. The work on the errors was successful. After separation, the first stage of the rocket, named Never Tell Me the Odds, performed a return maneuver and then made a flawless landing on the Jacklyn barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
In terms of payload, New Glenn successfully launched a pair of ESCAPADE probes onto their designated trajectory. They headed for the Lagrangian point L2 of the Sun-Earth system. The probes will spend about a year there observing space weather. After that, they will fly past Earth and use its gravity to head towards their main destination — Mars.
The second launch of New Glenn was a huge success for Blue Origin. It became only the second company in history to successfully recover an orbital rocket stage. SpaceX was the first to do so in December 2015. Thus, it took almost ten years to repeat its achievement.
The success of the second launch will also enable New Glenn to become certified for missions in the national security interest. This will give Blue Origin the opportunity to compete for military contracts.
