Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a booster for its New Glenn rocket launched from Florida on Sunday (19 April), in the latest chapter of its intensifying rivalry with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The rocket lifted off at around 7:25 a.m. ET (1125 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, with the booster touchdown coming about 10 minutes later.
The company has launched the New Glenn twice before, but only with new rocket boosters.
However, the uncrewed mission also faced a setback as the rocket failed to deploy a communications satellite into a high enough orbit.
The satellite designed by Texas firm AST was part of the company’s effort to build a space-based cellular broadband network, similar to SpaceX’s Starlink.
"While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will (be) de-orbited," AST said.
In a response to a post on X from Bezos regarding Sunday's launch, Musk congratulated him.
Sunday's mission, the third for New Glenn, was key to demonstrating that it has a reliable booster reuse capability and can compete with the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The rocket’s booster is dubbed "Never Tell Me the Odds," a nod to Han Solo’s line in the film ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.’
The mission came amid a surge of activity in the space sector.
Earlier in April, NASA’s Artemis II mission made history with a lunar flyby that took the astronauts further from earth than ever before.
SpaceX is building a special version of its Starship designed to land astronauts on the moon, as part of NASA’s Artemis programme.
Blue Origin is developing a more traditional lander and aims to achieve an uncrewed soft lunar landing this summer.
The developments come amid a U.S. space race with China to return humans to the moon for the first time since 1972.
Beijing, which plans to land its first crewed mission on the moon by 2030, is considered to currently be ahead in the contest.
Efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran continue as a fragile ceasefire risks collapsing after the U.S. seized a boat bound for...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stori...
Blue Origin, the U.S. space company of billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, successfully reused and recovered a boo...
Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Sunday night to show support for the government, with many voicing strong distrust of the ...
A coalition led by a pro-Russian Eurosceptic was on track to form Bulgaria’s next government preliminary r...
Efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran continue as a fragile ceasefire risks collapsing after the U.S. seized a boat bound for Iran at the weekend and Tehran closes the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile Tehran has refused to attend a new round of peace talks in Pakistan.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 20th of April, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Thousands of people gathered in Tehran on Sunday night to show support for the government, with many voicing strong distrust of the United States. Many said they were bracing for more hardship, but remained defiant.
A coalition led by a pro-Russian Eurosceptic was on track to form Bulgaria’s next government preliminary results from the Balkan nation’s parliamentary elections showed on Monday (20 April).
Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots have demonstrated improvements in speed, balance and autonomous navigation after completing a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday (19 April), in a showcase of the country’s fast-developing robotics sector.
The U.S. Navy has forcibly intercepted and boarded the Iranian cargo ship TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach the ongoing naval blockade. President Trump confirmed that the vessel was neutralised and seized by Marines following a direct strike on its engine room.
Two Indian-flagged ships were shot at in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, India's Foreign Ministry said, as Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz again, less than 24 hours after reopening the 167km long sea passage, which is essential for global trade.
Six people have been killed after a man opened fire in a supermarket in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Saturday (18 April). Ukraine's Security Service said it was investigating the incident as a "terrorist act."
Global leaders and diplomats gathered in southern Türkiye on 17 April for the fifth Antalya Diplomacy Forum, focusing on uncertainty, conflict, and the future of global cooperation.
Dozens of Chinese-made humanoid robots have demonstrated improvements in speed, balance and autonomous navigation after completing a half-marathon in Beijing on Sunday (19 April), in a showcase of the country’s fast-developing robotics sector.
A remarkable discovery at the ancient ruins of Sanxingdui offers a glimpse into what appears to be otherworldly craftsmanship - an axe believed to have been made using material from a meteorite.
NASA’s Artemis II crew has returned safely to Earth after completing a landmark journey around the Moon, marking the first crewed lunar mission in more than half a century.
The crew of NASA’s Artemis II mission are preparing to return to Earth after completing a groundbreaking journey around the Moon, with a Pacific Ocean splashdown expected off the coast of San Diego at around 01:00 BST (12:00 GMT).
Astronauts aboard Artemis II have described the emotional toll of their historic journey as they prepare for a high-risk “fireball” re-entry. The crew is set to splash down off California on Friday (10 April) after travelling farther than any humans in history.
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