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The launch of the New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral in the US was successful. The 98-meter-high rocket from Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ space company, carries two Mars satellites for a NASA mission to the red planet.
An attempt was also made to launch the rocket on Sunday, but the launch was canceled due to cloudy skies and a geomagnetic storm.
Live footage from Blue Origin showed the rocket lifting off from its launch tower in a sea of flames and huge clouds of vapor, moments after igniting its seven engines that burn more than 2,000 pounds (1,270 kilograms) of liquid fuel per second.
After previous setbacks, Blue Origin employees were thrilled during the launch:
Rocket New Glenn successfully launched
Nine minutes after launch, the New Glenn reusable launch vehicle detached and flew back to Earth, successfully landing on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean. It was the first time this was successful; the launch rocket was lost during a test flight in January.
Countdown
The launch was at 9:55 p.m., more than an hour later than planned. The countdown for the original launch was aborted just before launch. It is not clear why. Then the entire launch process was reset and there was still a lift off.
It is the first time since 2020 that a NASA mission has departed for Mars. The two Mars satellites on board New Glenn are called Blue and Gold. The intention is to make 3D images of the solar wind around Mars. 20 minutes after launch, they disconnected from New Glenn to begin their 22-month journey to Mars.
Scientists want to find out how the wind provides the planet’s atmosphere with energy, but also destroys it at the same time.
