Space flights|The rocket will carry two NASA probes headed for Mars.
Blue Origin -space company’s New Glenn launch vehicle has been launched into space.
The company showed the launch as a live broadcast on the messaging service in X Finnish time on Thursday evening. New Glenn will carry two NASA probes into orbit around the Earth, which are supposed to continue their journey towards Mars.
The probes are scheduled to arrive on Mars in the fall of 2027, Nasa says on their website. There they study, among other things, the planet’s gas atmosphere.
The launch of New Glenn was canceled on Sunday and Wednesday due to challenging space weather. The test flight of the launch vehicle was in January.
Elon Musk’s owned Space X company is getting a competitor for its cargo transportation from Blue Origin. The main owner of Blue Origin is an Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos.
Some of New Glenn’s parts can be reused, increasing its interest in the space industry.
Blue Origin said in Xthat the lower part of the rocket, i.e. the first stage, landed back on the ground as planned after launch. The first stage of the rocket is supposed to return to reuse, while the second stage continues its journey towards space.
News agency AFP calls the successful landing a “technical breakthrough”.