January 13, (THEWILL) – Amazon boss, Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, has postponed the inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket from Florida on Monday, due to a “vehicle subsystem issue”.
Standing 30 storeys tall, the partially reusable New Glenn launcher sat on Blue Origin’s launchpad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, ready for liftoff which was initially scheduled for 1:00 a.m. ET (1130 IST) after being loaded with methane and liquid oxygen propellants.
“We’re standing down on today’s launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that will take us beyond our launch window. We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt”, Blue Origin said in a statement on Monday.
Bezos wants his company to become a rival to Elon Musk’s SpaceX. While SpaceX remains the dominant force in orbital launches, Blue Origin’s cautious development pace could offer valuable “dissimilar redundancy” for government missions, providing backup if a primary system fails.
The rocket booster is designed to land on a platform in the Atlantic named after Bezos’ mother.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
