Update: January 10, 3:38 pm ET: All signs point to a launch in the early hours of Sunday morning, with a three-hour launch window at 1:00 am ET on Sunday, January 12 at 1:00 am ET.

Update: January 9, 1:20 pm ET: New Glenn’s inaugural launch has been delayed until Sunday, January 12, with the launch window opening at 1 a.m. ET, due to inclement weather expected on the ocean-based landing barge.

The original article follows below.

Blue Origin is highly anticipated The new Glenn rocket is getting ready for its big debut. If all goes well with the rocket’s inaugural flight, it could provide competition for industry favorite SpaceX.

New Glenn is scheduled to liftoff in a three-hour launch window that opens on Friday, January 10 at 1 am ET. The rocket will be launched from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. A livestream of the launch will begin about an hour before Blue Origin’s takeoff website. Third party provider NASASpaceflight also livestreamed the launch, which you can watch below.

Blue Origin, founded by the world’s second richest man, Jeff Bezos, first announced its $2.5 billion New Glenn rocket almost 10 years ago. The 320-foot-tall (98 meters) rocket is designed to lift 45 tons into low Earth orbit and 13 tons into Geostationary orbit.

The New Glenn is partially reusable, with its first stage designed to last 25 missions and powered by seven methane-burning BE-4 engines. In comparison, SpaceX’s Heavy Falcon is a partially reusable, heavy-lift rocket that can carry 63 metric tons to low Earth orbit and 26 metric tons to geostationary orbit. The side boosters of the Falcon Heavy and the first stage of the New Glenn are designed to return to Earth for a controlled landing on floating platforms at sea.

For its first mission, the heavy-lift launch vehicle will carry Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinderan orbital platform called a “space truck.” The Blue Ring’s first flight will test its ground systems and operational capabilities as part of the DarkSky-1 (DS-1) mission, sponsored by the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, according to Blue Origin.

“We are excited to demonstrate Blue Ring’s advanced in-space operations on the inaugural New Glenn mission,” Paul Ebertz, senior vice president of Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems, said in a statement. “The Blue Ring plays an important role in creating a path to space, and this mission is an important first step for the Blue Ring and will enable dynamic and responsive operations that will greatly benefit our country.”

Blue Ring Pathfinder merged. Jacklyn is doing well. Launch license received. Here we are! https://t.co/CCOY8GEks8 pic.twitter.com/hjAL8Dmu3q

— Dave Limp (@davill) January 7, 2025

The primary goal of New Glenn’s first flight was to reach orbit on its first try. Blue Origin will also try to land its booster on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, but the name of the booster, “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” suggests the company is optimistic but perhaps not fully expecting the first one. try it to succeed. . It is also New Glenn’s first National Security Space Launch certification flight, which could pave the way for the rocket to carry national security payloads on future missions.

Bezos’ big rocket debut could inspire his rival to his rocket billionaire nemesis, SpaceX founder Elon Musk. Blue Origin’s current rocket, New Shepard, is mostly used to launch space tourists on suborbital flights to the edge of space. New Glenn, meanwhile, will officially put Blue Origin on the map when it comes to the orbital payload business.

SpaceX has a significant head start, making it an industry favorite. Whether or not Blue Origin can catch up remains to be seen, but many aboard the first time New Glenn has taken to the skies.