Blue Origin Showcases New Rocket Named ‘New Glenn’

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has announced a new rocket from his company Blue Origin. Named “New Glenn,” the rocket is larger than SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket. The rocket must be reusable after launch, according to Bezos.

The two-stage version of the rocket, which is equipped with seven BE-4 engines, is about 82 meters long and the three-stage version comes down to about 95 meters, Bezos wrote in an email to Popular Mechanics, among others. The New Glenn is intended to transport commercial satellites and humans into space. In addition, the three-stage rocket must be able to perform missions that go beyond low orbit.

According to Bezos, the new rocket will take off for the first time “before the end of this decade.” The launch is to take place from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The rocket must be able to land the first stage again after launch, so that it can be reused. The company has previously succeeded with the small New Shepard rocket. At the time, after launch, the rocket fell back to Earth, where booster rockets were used at an altitude of 1,100 meters to enable a soft landing.

However, the New Shepard was unable to orbit charges, which should be possible with the New Glenn. The earlier rocket was named after Alan Shepard, who was the first American to reach space in 1961. The new rocket is in turn named after John Glenn, the first American to complete a full orbit around the Earth in 1962. According to Bezos, the next rocket should bear the name New Armstrong, TechChrunch writes.

Comparison of missiles, image via Twitter