In the continuing saga of billionaires and big rockets comes Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with his latest space vehicle, New Glenn.
The rocket, which stands taller than the Statue of Liberty, is named after NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first person to orbit Earth in 1962. Though much shorter than SpaceX‘s towering Starship, it is about the size of NASA’s mega moon rocket, the Space Launch System.
Years in the making, the commercial rocket is on the verge of its maiden flight.
On Friday, while strapped firmly to its launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, New Glenn nailed its final dress rehearsal, firing all seven of its engines for 24 seconds. It was the first time Bezos’ company, Blue Origin, had operated the entire stacked rocket as an integrated system. Flashes from the engines pierced through billows of steam, like cracks of lightning amid storm clouds.
Support authors and subscribe to content
This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.
