So what sets Blue Origins New Glen rocket apart from Starship and Spacex's other array of Falcon rockets? Will it successfully compete with them, or has it already fallen behind before its first launch? Now these are just a few questions looming as the rocket prepares to launch its first orbital mission. This is New Glen, and it's going to be launching from a pad in Florida. Now this is set to debut after more than 25 years in the making.
Since Blue Origins, founding, New Glenn has faced numerous delays, yet anticipation is building as it readies to take flight in a market increasingly dominated by SpaceX and its powerful Starship and Falcon series rockets. Despite being overshadowed by the sheer size of Spacex's Starship system, New Glen was once hailed as groundbreaking when first announced in 2016, and at that time, most emerging aerospace companies were focusing on designing smaller,
more cost effective rockets. A Blue Origin, in contrast, declared its ambition to create one of the largest orbital rockets ever built. Now towering at 98 meters tall and featuring a core stage 7 meters wide, New Glen rivals the payload capacity of Spacex's Falcon Heavy while incorporating more modern design elements and increased reusability. Now the rocket boasts A2 stage design, with the first stage powered by 7 B E4 engines burning methane and liquid
oxygen. The second stage uses a pair of BE3U hydrogen burning engines optimized for operations in space. And according to Blue Origin, New Glen's first stage is designed for full reusability right from its inaugural launch, which is a key distinction from other launch system that often introduced reusability features little bit more gradually. Now, 1 of New Glen's standout features is its massive payload fairing, measuring 7 meters on
diameter and 17 meters tall. These dimensions make it the largest fairing available in the commercial launch market, providing ample space for payloads that may be too large or oddly shaped for Spacex's Falcon rockets.
As Blue Origin prepares for the debut mission, the company's first payload is a small satellite bus known as Blue Ring. Equipped with its own propulsion and power systems, New Blends Propulsion System showcases a blend of technological choices that reflect a methodical approach to balancing performance and reliability. It's first stage BE4 engines, for instance, employ an oxidizer rich stage combustion cycle using methane and liquid oxygen.
Now these engines have lower chamber pressures than Spacex's Raptor engines. This is a deliberate decision aimed at extending engine lifespan and also improving reusability. While SpaceX continually pushes for maximum performance from smaller engines by increasing pressure, Blue Origin's more conservative design philosophy favors long term reliability. The UER stage of New Glen uses a different engine cycle than the first stage.
Its BE 3U engines rely on an expander cycle that vaporizes hydrogen to drive turbines and also run pumps. This design sacrifices some efficiency for increased thrust, but remains effective for high altitude and space maneuvers. The result is a highly capable upper stage the Blue Origin claims is more efficient than Spacex's Falcon 9 upper stage, though not quite at the level of the Centaur stage used by United
Launch Alliance or the ula. New Glen's landing system also differentiates it from competitors. Unlike Spacex's grid fins, Blue Origin uses a more traditional diamond shaped fin design combined with strikes to enhance lift and cross range capability during descent. The first stage includes cold gas thrusters for in flight attitude adjustments and also features 6 landing legs which Starship doesn't have seamlessly integrated into its F section.
According to CEO David Limp, these legs are capable of withstanding impacts up to 150 tons, enabling precise and safe landing on a recovery barge named Jacqueline, which is positioned in the Atlantic Ocean. A key difference between Blue Origin and SpaceX lies in their development strategies. While SpaceX adopts a rapid, iterative approach, often launching early prototypes to gather real world data and refined designs, now, Blue Origin emphasizes exhaustive testing before any public
launches. This methodical approach may limit the number of launches in the short term, but aligns with Blue Origin strategy of ensuring a high success rate from the outset. Notably, NASA has enough confidence in Blue Origin's testing protocols to plan a Mars mission using New Glenn's first flight before scheduling conflicts cause delays. That flight has been cancelled now, despite years of preparation.
Blue Origin faces significant competition, though, because Spacex's Starship exists, which aims for complete and full reusability across all of its stages, and it's shifted the industry standard and dwarfs other rockets in terms of sheer payload capacity and size. Now, Starship's design presents challenges for smaller satellite deployments due to the limited size of its payload Bay doors, which contrasts sharply with New Glen's spacious fairing design. Starship may capture attention
and its size with ambitions. New Glen targets a different niche in the market with a hydrogen powered upward stage. The rocket is well suited for missions to geostationary orbit, the moon and possibly even Mars without requiring the complex refueling maneuvers that Starship demands for interplanetary travel. It's going to take them about 10 refuels for Spacex's Starship to get to the moon, and New Glen's market prospects also extend beyond exploration missions.
Blue Origins connections to Amazon through Jeff Bezos opened the door launcher for Kuiper satellites. Amazon's answers to Spacex's Starlight constellation. Other clients including One Web and Eulstat have already expressed interest in using New Glen for their payload. While Blue Origin had initially considered a three stage version of New Glen for very deep space missions, its current focus remains on providing the capabilities to customers with
their two stage variant. The company has also explored developing a reusable upper stage under the code name Project Jarvis as part of its vision to create Full, fully reusable launch vehicles. Such advancements would place New Glenn in direct competition with Starship, and despite facing stiff competition, Blue Origins, careful planning, innovative design elements, and diverse customer base provide a strong foundation as it moved toward this debut launch.
The company's method? The company's methodical approach and readiness to cater to specific market needs show that it has a really good strategy for long term viability in an industry where RAID innovation and reliability are equally as critical.