Last Thursday (Nov 13), Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral, sending NASA's twin EscaPADE probes on a 22-month trip to Mars and sticking its first-ever sea landing of the booster! 🚀🌊
What Happened
The 17-story, two-stage New Glenn lit up clear skies with seven BE-4 engines roaring. About 10 minutes after liftoff, the first-stage booster – nicknamed 'Never Tell Me the Odds' as a shout-out to Star Wars – came back down to Earth and touched down smoothly on the deck of the drone ship Jacklyn. This milestone proves Blue Origin is closing in on SpaceX's reusability game. 💪
Why It Matters
With this mission, Blue Origin delivered NASA's first science payload – those EscaPADE satellites – boosting its creds as a serious player in the global launch market. For young space buffs from Delhi to Jakarta, it's a sign that more players are rising in the interplanetary race. 🌌
Looking Ahead
Now that New Glenn has nailed both launch and landing, eyes are on its next flights. Will it push further into commercial and deep-space missions? Only time (and more sea landings) will tell. Until then, here's to the future of reusable rockets lighting up our night skies! ✨
Reference(s):
Blue Origin launches NASA Mars mission, sticks booster landing
cgtn.com
