On January 16, 2025, Blue Origin launched its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, followed hours later by SpaceX’s seventh Starship launch.
The 321-foot-tall New Glenn, capable of lifting 45 metric tons into low Earth orbit, is powered by seven methane-fueled BE-4 engines and aims to rival SpaceX.
On its maiden flight, it carried the Blue Ring Pathfinder prototype, successfully reaching orbit, but the reusable first stage failed to land due to a likely guidance system issue. Blue Origin is investigating the cause to improve future missions.
The opposite for SpaceX
The launch was successful, with the Super Heavy booster conducting a difficult manoeuvre, returning to Earth, and the launch tower’s mechanical arms safely executing a perfect catch.
Meanwhile, the Starship spaceship faced troubles during flight when several of its engines failed, resulting in a lack of communication and suspected disintegration over the Turks and Caicos Islands southeast of the Bahamas. Debris was observed during atmospheric re-entry, providing a stunning display but also proving the mission’s failure.
Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, suggested that the incident could have been caused by a fuel leak, resulting in a fire and the loss of the vehicle. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has directed SpaceX to undertake a comprehensive investigation of the incident. SpaceX intends to address the found faults and continue testing to reach its lofty ambitions, which include flights to Mars and providing a lunar lander for NASA’s Artemis 3 mission.
These two events show undeniable successes but also highlight the challenges faced by Blue Origin and SpaceX in developing their respective space programs. Ongoing investigations will provide crucial information to improve the reliability and safety of future launches.
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