Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Launch Delayed at Last Minute

The maiden launch of Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin New Glenn rocket was delayed at the last minute by at least a day to troubleshoot issues.

The 30-story-tall rocket was parked on the Space Force’s Cape Canaveral launch pad, fueled by methane and liquid oxygen. The launch was originally scheduled for 1 a.m. local time Monday.

However, Blue Origin repeatedly delayed the launch time as the launch window neared its 4 a.m. launch window. By 2:20 a.m., a company spokeswoman said crews were investigating “some anomalies,” without specifying what they were.

Blue Origin did not immediately disclose details about the reasons for postponing the New Glenn launch by several days. It was assumed that the decision was due to the impossibility of promptly eliminating the consequences of a technical failure due to which the launch was canceled the first time. It was also possible that the new date was chosen to ensure optimal weather conditions. The company later confirmed that the New Glenn launch was canceled due to the formation of an ice crust in the ventilation system. “This morning’s launch was canceled due to the formation of ice in the purge loop of the auxiliary power unit, which supplies power to some hydraulic systems,” the source quotes a Blue Origin representative as saying.

In late 2023, Bezos accelerated Blue Origin, prioritizing development of New Glenn and its BE-4 engines.

New Glenn is more than twice as powerful as the Falcon 9 and already has dozens of launch contracts worth billions of dollars.