SpaceX Starship Rollout: Flight Test#7 Launch Prep at Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship Rollout: Flight Test#7 Launch Prep at Starbase Texas

The seventh flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Monday, January 13, 2025. Teams at Starbase are keeping an eye on weather conditions for preflight operations. The upcoming flight test will launch a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 35 minutes before liftoff. You can watch here . . .

Starship Test Flight 7:

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-7

The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here for updates.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 121m/397ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Capture Date: Jan. 9, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #Spacecraft #Starship7 #TestFlight7 #HeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Satellites: Essential for tackling climate change | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Satellites: Essential for tackling climate change | Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

"To tackle climate change, it is essential to gain a deep understanding of the Earth we live on. The first step toward this goal is to accurately comprehend the mechanisms and current state of our planet. The Earth observation satellites operated by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) monitor a range of essential climate variables across the Earth's environment on a global scale, collecting and accumulating data over extended periods."

"This initiative provides a critical foundation for accurately assessing the impacts of climate change and formulating effective countermeasures. In this feature, guided by Professor Tadahiro Hayakawa from the Graduate School of Science at Tohoku University and Advisor to the Director General of JAXA's Earth Observation Research Center, we will explore how satellite technology addresses climate change and its anticipated advancements in the future."

Learn more about JAXA Earth Satellites:

https://earth.jaxa.jp/en/research/

Video Credit: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Duration: 7 minutes
Release Date: Jan. 8, 2025

#NASA #JAXA #Space #Satellites #衛星 #Science #Planet #Earth #Asia #GlobalTemperatureRecords #Weather #Meteorology #ClimateChange #GlobalHeating #Climate #Environment #GreenhouseGases #地球観測衛星 #EarthObservation #RemoteSensing #TohokuUniversity #東北大学 #Japan #日本 #STEM #Education #Animation #HD #Video

The Himalayas separate China from a cloudy India | International Space Station

The Himalayas Separate China from a Cloudy India | International Space Station

The Himalayas separate the arid steppe of China's Tibetan Plateau from a cloudy Indian subcontinent in this photograph from the International Space Station as it soared 261 miles above Asia.

The Himalayas, or Himalaya, is a mountain range in Asia. The range has a number of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 peaks exceed elevations of 7,200 meters (23,600 feet) above sea level in the Himalayas. The Himalayas cross five countries: Nepal, China, Pakistan, Bhutan and India.

Expedition 72 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Suni Williams
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov
NASA Flight Engineers: Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Date:  Dec. 19, 2024
Release Date: Jan. 7, 2025

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Asia #Himalayas #China #中国 #Tibet #བོད #藏 #India #BhāratGaṇarājya #Astronauts #Cosmonauts #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

SpaceX Starship: Final Preparations for Flight Test#7 at Starbase Texas

SpaceX Starship: Final Preparations for Flight Test#7 at Starbase Texas

The seventh flight test of Starship is preparing to launch as soon as Monday, January 13, 2025. Teams at Starbase are keeping an eye on weather conditions for preflight operations. The upcoming flight test will launch a new generation ship with significant upgrades, attempt Starship’s first payload deployment test, fly multiple reentry experiments geared towards ship catch and reuse, and launch and return the Super Heavy booster.

A live webcast of the flight test will begin about 35 minutes before liftoff. You can watch here . . .

Starship Test Flight 7:

https://www.spacex.com/launches/mission/?missionId=starship-flight-7

The launch window will open at 4:00 p.m. CT. As is the case with all developmental testing, the schedule is dynamic and likely to change, so be sure to check in here for updates.

SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy rocket—collectively referred to as Starship—represent a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars and beyond. Starship is the world’s most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, capable of carrying up to 150 metric tonnes fully reusable and 250 metric tonnes expendable.

Key Starship Parameters:
Height: 121m/397ft
Diameter: 9m/29.5ft
Payload to LEO: 100–150t (fully reusable)

"Starship is essential to both SpaceX’s plans to deploy its next-generation Starship system as well as for NASA, which will use a lunar lander version of Starship for landing astronauts on the Moon during the Artemis III mission through the Human Landing System (HLS) program."

Learn more about Starship:

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

Download the Free Starship User Guide (PDF):

https://www.spacex.com/media/starship_users_guide_v1.pdf

Image Credit: Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX)

Capture Date: Jan. 8, 2024

#NASA #SpaceX #Space #Earth #Mars #Moon #MoonToMars #ArtemisProgram #ArtemisIII #Starship #Spacecraft #Starship7 #TestFlight7 #HeavyBooster #SuperHeavyRocket #ElonMusk #Engineering #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #CommercialSpace #SpaceExploration #Starbase #BocaChica #Texas #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Chinese Researchers Work on Chang'e-7: The Next Lunar South Pole Mission

Chinese Researchers Work on Chang'e-7: The Next Lunar South Pole Mission

Chinese researchers are pushing ahead with research work on the follow-up Chang'e-7 lunar exploration mission to the Moon's south pole. The mission will include an orbiter, a lander, a mini-hopping probe, and a rover. They are also planning to send a flag that can flutter in the Moon's very thin and tenuous atmosphere after its predecessor Chang'e-6 brought back the first-ever samples from the far side, south pole of the Moon last year.

China plans to send its Chang'e-7 probe to find traces of water and ice at the Moon's south pole around 2026. The Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (CLEP), also known as the Chang'e Project, after the Chinese Moon goddess Chang'e, is an ongoing series of robotic Moon missions by the China National Space Administration (CNSA).

Researchers are also proceeding with preliminary work on the Chang'e-8 mission and an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS).

At China's deep space exploration laboratory, researchers from Beijing and Anhui Province are working together to study popular science payloads, including an innovative idea of raising a fluttering flag that originated from a group of pupils.

The lab, co-established by the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Anhui Province, and the University of Science and Technology of China, started operation in June 2022. It is headquartered in Hefei, the capital city of Anhui, and has a branch in Beijing. The laboratory aims to promote the long-term development of deep space exploration of the Moon, planets, asteroids, including the edge of the solar system.

Of course, on the Moon, there is no air to breathe, no breezes to make a flag flutter. However, the researchers are trying to use the interaction of electromagnetic fields to fly a flag on the Moon.

"We know that the Moon is vacuum with no air, so it is difficult to make a flag flutter by wind like on Earth. What's the primary school students' solution? That is to arrange closed loop wires on the surface of the flag with access to two-way positive and negative currents, and make the flag flutter through the interaction of electromagnetic fields," said Zhang Tianzhu, deputy head of the institute of future technology at the lab.

If all goes well, this will be the first flag to flutter on the surface of the Moon.

"Now, in order to complete the development of our popular science test payload in February, we are motivated and divided into different groups to advance this task," said Zhang.

"Our goal is to establish a sustainable and scalable comprehensive scientific experimental facility on the lunar surface and in lunar orbit, capable of long-term autonomous operation and short-term human participation, and to basically build an international lunar research station by around 2035," said Zhang.

Video Credit: CCTV

Duration: 1 minute, 44 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 7, 2025

#NASA #CNSA #Space #Astronomy #Science #China #中国 #Moon #Change7 #嫦娥七号  #RoboticExploration #ChangeProject #嫦娥工程 #CLEP #中国探月工程 #LunarSouthPole #ShackletonCrater #SpaceTechnology #SpaceExploration #SolarSystem #InternationalCooperation #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms: Protostar L1527 | James Webb Space Telescope

Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms: Protostar L1527 | James Webb Space Telescope

Dr. Michelle Thaller presents Webb’s stunning view of a young protostar, just 100,000 years old and cocooned in gas and dust.

Webb reveals the protostar’s hourglass shape, vibrant blue and orange clouds, and spiraling accretion disk—key features of this early stage of star formation.

A true marvel, this protostar offers insights into the origins of stars, unveiling a process billions of years in the making. What secrets will the universe reveal next?

For more information, visit https://webb.nasa.gov/

Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Paul Morris: Lead Producer 

Thaddeus Cesari: Script

Dr. Michelle Thaller: Narrator

Duration: 2 minutes, 29 seconds

Release Date: Jan. 8, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #JWST #JamesWebb #WebbTelescope #Protostar #ProtostarL1527 #DarkCloudL1527 #Taurus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #UnfoldTheUniverse #Europe #CSA #Canada #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Planet Mars Landing Site Candidate: Possible Chloride Salt Deposits | NASA MRO

Planet Mars Landing Site Candidate: Possible Chloride Salt Deposits | NASA MRO

There is an intriguing surface unit in parts of the ancient Martian highlands that may consist of chloride salts (like NaCl, or table salt) that precipitated out of shallow lakes as in desert regions of Earth.

This site has unusual thermal properties and distinctive morphologies, but lacks spectral absorption bands. All of these characteristics and the geologic settings are consistent with salt deposits. These deposits are often associated with clay minerals that do have distinctive absorption bands.

Image cutout is less than 1 km (under 1 mi) across and the spacecraft altitude was 266 km (165 mi). 

Local Mars time: 15:01

Latitude (centered): -5.625°

Longitude (East): 353.871°

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) is a spacecraft designed to study the geology and climate of Mars, to provide reconnaissance of future landing sites, and to relay data from surface missions back to Earth. It was launched on August 12, 2005, and reached Mars on March 10, 2006. 

The University of Arizona, in Tucson, operates HiRISE. It was built by BAE Systems in Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

For more information on MRO, visit:

https://mars.nasa.gov/mro

science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-reconnaissance-orbiter
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/MRO/mission/index.html

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona
Caption Credit: Alfred McEwen

Image Date: Jan. 21, 2010
Release Date: Jan. 8, 2025

#NASA #Space #Astronomy #Science #Mars #Planet #RedPlanet #Geology #Landscape #Terrain #MartianHighlands #ChlorideSalt #NaCl #ClayMinerals #WaterEvidence #Geoscience #MRO #MarsOrbiter #MarsSpacecraft #HiRISECamera #JPL #Caltech #BallAerospace #MSSS #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

New December 2024 NASA Astronaut Images Released | International Space Station

New December 2024 NASA Astronaut Images Released | International Space Station

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams assembles research hardware inside the International Space Station's cupola while orbiting 261 miles above the Pacific Ocean west of Nicaragua.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams checks research components inside the Kibo laboratory module's Advanced Plant Habitat aboard the International Space Station.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Commander Suni Williams shows off a holiday decoration of a familiar reindeer aboard the International Space Station. The decoration was crafted with excess hardware, cargo bags, and recently-delivered Santa hats.

NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Suni Williams, Expedition 72 flight engineer and commander respectively, share snacks and goodies on Christmas Eve inside the gallery of the International Space Station's Unity module.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Don Pettit removes the small satellite orbital deployer from the Kibo laboratory module's airlock after several CubeSats were deployed outside the International Space Station into Earth orbit for educational research.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Butch Wilmore works inside the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module to begin installing the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device. The futuristic exercise gear will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities.

NASA astronaut and Expedition 72 Flight Engineer Nick Hague demonstrates the range of motion and stability of student-designed space hardware aboard the International Space Station's Destiny laboratory module. Hague was testing the HUNCH (High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware) Utility Bracket for its ability to hold and position cameras, computer tablets, and other tools astronauts use daily.

NASA astronauts (from left) Butch Wilmore and Don Pettit, both Expedition 72 flight engineers, install the European Enhanced Exploration Exercise Device inside the International Space Station's Columbus laboratory module. The futuristic exercise gear will be tested by the station crew using its advanced bicycling, rowing, and resistive capabilities.

Expedition 72 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 72 Crew

Station Commander: Suni Williams
Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Alexey Ovchinin, Ivan Vagner, Aleksandr Gorbunov
NASA Flight Engineers: Butch Wilmore, Don Pettit, Nick Hague

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Credit: NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Image Dates: Dec. 16-24, 2024

#NASA #Space #Science #ISS #Earth #Christmas2024 #Astronauts #DonPettit #SuniWilliams #ButchWilmore #NickHague #Russia #Россия #Roscosmos #Роскосмос #InternationalCooperation #LongDurationMissions #SpaceLaboratory #HumanSpaceflight #UnitedStates #Expedition72 #STEM #Education

The Orion Constellation | European Southern Observatory

The Orion Constellation | European Southern Observatory

Imaged from the European Southern Observatory's La Silla Observatory, this photograph captures the full Orion constellation and arcs of gas and dust weaving through the constellation. Just to the left of the the Hunter's three-star belt is the bright Orion Nebula, one of the most well known star-forming regions.

Credit: Zdeněk Bardon/ESO
Release Date: Sept. 11, 2017

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Nebulae #OrionNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #LaSillaObservatory #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Wide-field Infrared View of Nebula Messier 78 in Orion | ESO's VIST

Wide-field Infrared View of Nebula Messier 78 in Orion | ESO's VISTA

This richly detailed view of the star formation region Messier 78, in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter), was taken with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. As well as the blue regions of reflected light from the hot young stars the image also shows streams of dark dust and the red jets emerging from stars in the process of formation.

Distance: ~1,400 light years

Image Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Release Date: Oct. 5, 2016

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #NGC2068 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTATelescope #InfraredAstronomy #ParanalObservatory #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Nebula Messier 78 Region in Orion: Visible & Infrared Light Views | ESO

Nebula Messier 78 Region in Orion: Visible & Infrared Light Views | ESO

The reflection nebula Messier 78 is a vibrant nursery of star formation enveloped in a shroud of interstellar dust. It lies in the constellation of Orion within our Milky Way galaxy. 

Distance: ~1,400 light years

These comparison cutouts show unique parts of this rich star-forming complex in Orion appear at distinct light wavelengths. In the infrared images from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) (lower row), the dust is much more transparent than in the visible light pictures from the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope (upper row).

Credit: ESO/Igor Chekalin
Release Date: Oct. 5, 2016

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #NGC2068 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #MPGESOTelescope #OpticalAstronomy #VISTATelescope #InfraredAstronomy #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education

Journey to Nebula Messier 78's Dust Clouds in Orion | ESO

Journey to Nebula Messier 78's Dust Clouds in Orion | ESO

This zoom sequence opens with a wide-field view of the Milky Way. We close in on the constellation of Orion and as we zoom in on to a region close to Orion’s famous Belt, a fascinating region of dust and reflection nebulosity—known as Messier 78—comes into view. At the end of the zoom, submillimeter-wavelength observations from the LArge APEX BOlometer CAmera (LABOCA) camera on the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) reveal the heat glow of the dust grains, shown here in orange tones.

The final image shows the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s belt. You can see clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The submillimeter-wavelength observations, made with the APEX telescope and shown here in orange, use the heat glow of interstellar dust grains to show astronomers where new stars are being formed. They are overlaid on a view of the region in visible light.

Distance: ~1,400 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) / APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO) / T. Stanke et al. / Igor Chekalin / Digitized Sky Survey 2

Duration: 43 seconds
Release Date: May 2, 2012

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #NGC2068 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #AtacamaPathfinderExperiment #APEX #ChajnantorPlateau #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #DSS2 #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Close-up views of Nebula Messier 78's Dust Clouds in Orion | ESO

Close-up views of Nebula Messier 78's Dust Clouds in Orion | ESO

This image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s belt, shows clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The submillimeter-wavelength observations, made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and shown here in orange, use the heat glow of interstellar dust grains to show astronomers where new stars are being formed. They are overlaid on a view of the region in visible light.

Distance: ~1,400 light years

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO) / APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO) / T. Stanke et al. / Igor Chekalin / Digitized Sky Survey 2

Duration: 1 minute
Release Date: May 2, 2012

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #NGC2068 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #AtacamaPathfinderExperiment #APEX #ChajnantorPlateau #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #DSS #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education #HD #Video

Cosmic Dust Clouds of Nebula Messier 78 in Orion | European Southern Observatory

Cosmic Dust Clouds of Nebula Messier 78 in Orion | European Southern Observatory

This image of the region surrounding the reflection nebula Messier 78, just to the north of Orion’s belt, shows clouds of cosmic dust threaded through the nebula like a string of pearls. The submillimeter-wavelength observations, made with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and shown here in orange, use the heat glow of interstellar dust grains to show astronomers where new stars are being formed. They are overlaid on a view of the region in visible light.

Distance: ~1,400 light years

Credit: ESO/APEX (MPIfR/ESO/OSO)/T. Stanke et al./Igor Chekalin/Digitized Sky Survey 2
Release Date: May 2, 2012

#NASA #FoN #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebula #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #NGC2068 #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #AtacamaPathfinderExperiment #APEX #ChajnantorPlateau #AtacamaDesert #Chile #Europe #DSS #STScI #UnitedStates #STEM #Education

Nebulae Messier 78 & (a bit of) Barnard's Loop in Orion

Nebulae Messier 78 & (a bit of) Barnard's Loop in Orion

Astrophotographer Ian Inverarity: "The M78 nebula is another interesting little thing I have seen in my wider field shots that I wanted to capture! After 3 clear nights in a row, here it is!"

The reflection nebula Messier 78 is a vibrant nursery of star formation enveloped in a shroud of interstellar dust. It lies in the constellation of Orion within our Milky Way galaxy. 

Barnard's Loop (catalogue designation Sh 2-276) is an emission nebula in the constellation of Orion. It is part of the Orion molecular cloud complex. It also contains the dark Horsehead and bright Orion nebulae. The loop takes the form of a large arc centered approximately on the Orion Nebula. The stars within the Orion Nebula are believed to be responsible for ionizing the loop.

Distance: ~1,400 light years

Image details: Takahashi FSQ106N telescope, QHY268M camera, Astronomik R, G & B filters, Warp Astron WD-20 EQ mount, PHD2 and NINA camera and mount control. Stacking and initial processing in APP, final processing in PS. 

Image Credit: Ian Inverarity

Capture Location: Leigh Creek, South Australia.
Release Date: Jan. 2, 2025

#NASA #FoN #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #StarFormation #Nebulae #ReflectionNebula #Messier78 #Sh2276 #BarnardsLoop #EmissionNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWayGalaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Astrophotographer #IanInverarity #Astrophotography #Australia #STEM #Education

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket: Preparing for First Launch

Blue Origin's New Glenn Rocket: Preparing for First Launch

New Glenn’s inaugural mission (NG-1) is targeting no earlier than Friday, January 10, 2025, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. The three-hour launch window opens at 1 a.m. EST (0600 UTC).   

"The payload is our Blue Ring Pathfinder. It will test Blue Ring’s core flight, ground systems, and operational capabilities."  

"Our key objective is to reach orbit safely. We know landing the booster on our first try offshore in the Atlantic is ambitious—but we’re going for it." 

“This is our first flight and we’ve prepared rigorously for it,” said Jarrett Jones, SVP, New Glenn. “But no amount of ground testing or mission simulations are a replacement for flying this rocket. It’s time to fly. No matter what happens, we’ll learn, refine, and apply that knowledge to our next launch.” 

"Blue Origin has several New Glenn vehicles in production and a full customer manifest. Customers include NASA, Amazon’s Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile, several telecommunications providers, and a mix of U.S. government customers."

About New Glenn 

New Glenn stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) high and features a seven-meter payload fairing, enabling twice the volume of standard five-meter class commercial launch systems. Its reusable first stage aims for a minimum of 25 missions and will land on Jacklyn, a sea-based platform located several hundred miles downrange. Reusability is integral to radically reducing cost-per-launch.   

The vehicle is powered by seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, the most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine ever flown. LNG is cleaner-burning and higher-performing than kerosene-based fuels, and the seven BE-4s generate over 3.8 million lbf of thrust. The vehicle’s second stage is powered by two BE-3Us, liquid oxygen (LOX)/liquid hydrogen (LH2) engines designed to together yield over 320,000 lbf of vacuum thrust.   

In addition to the BE-4 and BE-3U, Blue Origin manufactures BE-7 engines for our Blue Moon lunar landers and New Shepard’s BE-3PM engine. 

Learn more: https://www.blueorigin.com/new-glenn

Image Credit: Blue Origin

Release Date: Jan. 6, 2024

#NASA #Space #BlueOrigin #NewGlenn #NewGlennRocket #NG1 #FirstLaunch #CommercialSpace #ArtemisProgram #BlueMoonLanders #SpaceTechnology #HumanSpaceflight #LC36 #CapeCanaveral #Florida #UnitedStates #Astronaut #JohnGlenn #History #STEM #Education