NEW GLENN, this ROCKET that SPACEX must not UNDERESTIMATE!
Video from the channel Hugo Lisoir about New Glenn, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 15:03. Language: French. Video type: Documentary.
What it's about
An explainer piece from the Les dossiers de l'espace series, published before New Glenn's maiden flight, which reviews the design of Blue Origin's launcher and asks whether it can become a serious competitor to SpaceX. It covers the reusable first stage, the hydrogen second stage, the Blue Ring space tug and the question of launch price.
Historical context
Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos's company, traditionally very guarded in its communications, had spent years announcing New Glenn without flying it. According to the video, the company had begun opening up, with a new CEO and concrete targets: flying that year, carrying out 8 to 10 launches in 2025 and 24 in 2026 while rotating just four boosters. The first planned mission, ESCAPADE to Mars for NASA, had been delayed.
Key facts
The rocket is nearly 100 m tall and 7 m in diameter. Its first stage uses seven BE-4 methane/liquid-oxygen engines, each producing about 250 tonnes of thrust, for roughly 1,750 tonnes at liftoff. Instead of grid fins, it has two lower fins that provide lift during the glide and four control surfaces up top, plus six short landing legs designed to touch down on a barge at sea. The second stage uses vacuum-optimized BE-3 engines, running on liquid hydrogen and oxygen, with a specific impulse close to 450 s, allowing up to about 13.6 tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit or about 7 toward the Moon. Blue Origin is also studying a reusable second stage (project Jarvis) alongside an optimized expendable one. Blue Ring combines chemical and electric propulsion, with a wingspan of about 44 m with its panels deployed, and is expected to fly on the launcher's maiden flight.