Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin has made a major leap in the commercial space race. Their massive New Glenn rocket successfully launched a NASA mission to Mars. Crucially, the rocket’s main booster completed a perfect return landing.
The 321-foot rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral on Thursday. It carried NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, which will study the Martian atmosphere. Minutes after launch, the first-stage booster separated. It then flew itself back to Earth. The booster landed upright on the company’s offshore recovery ship, the Jacklyn.
This successful recovery is a first for New Glenn. It puts Blue Origin on par with SpaceX in reusable orbital-class rocket technology. Reusability makes space travel much cheaper. The New Glenn booster is designed to be reused up to 25 times. The achievement was met with cheers at mission control. This milestone strengthens Blue Origin’s position to compete for future government and commercial contracts.
