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.