The launch of American billionaire Bezos’ space rocket has been postponed. There were “several anomalies” – Human – Science and technology

The launch of the New Glenn rocket of American billionaire Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin has been delayed by at least 24 hours due to technical problems. TASR informs on the basis of a report by the Reuters and AP agencies.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket at Launch Complex 36 briefly on Jan. 13, 2025, in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

A spokeswoman for Blue Origin said during the live broadcast that it would take more time for engineers to resolve the issues than the launch window, so the launch of the rocket was canceled and a new date would be announced later. She added that the start will not happen earlier than in 24 hours, but it can be moved even further.

The rocket was originally supposed to launch from the Space Force station at Cape Caneveral in Florida at 1:00 a.m. local time (7:00 a.m. CET). The start was repeatedly postponed and later canceled. According to the company’s spokeswoman, the reason was “several anomalies” that the company’s engineers were trying to solve, writes Reuters.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn is a new type of rocket whose parts can be reused. It uses liquid methane and oxygen as fuel and is 98 meters tall, about the size of a 30-story building. It is more than twice as powerful as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.

The cargo compartment of the rocket hides the manned Blue Ring spacecraft, writes Reuters. The company plans to sell it to the Pentagon and commercial customers for national security missions and satellite servicing, Space News reports.

“We are most nervous about the landing of the auxiliary engine. On the first flight, something unexpected can happen at every stage of the mission,” Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos told Reuters during an interview before the launch of the rocket.

Part of the mission was to land the booster engine of the first stage of the rocket on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean approximately ten minutes after launch. In the meantime, the second stage of the rocket was supposed to continue its ascent.

Successfully delivering the rocket to the planned orbit during its maiden flight would be a major achievement, Reuters reports.

At the end of 2023, Bezos identified the development of the New Glenn rocket and its BE-4 engines as a priority. The company is trying to compete with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX in the segment of passenger and cargo space flights.