
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket had a very big day on Thursday (Nov. 13), and a new video lets us all relive part of it.
New Glenn launched for the second time ever on Thursday afternoon, successfully sending NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes into the final frontier from Florida's Space Coast.
But that wasn't all. The two-stage rocket's huge first stage came back to Earth as planned, acing a landing on "Jacklyn," Blue Origin's drone ship, which was stationed about 375 miles (604 kilometers) offshore.
Previously, only one company had ever pulled off this dramatic maneuver — SpaceX, which has pioneered the recovery and reuse of orbital rockets.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos celebrated the New Glenn landing on X, posting several videos of the 188-foot-tall (57 meters) booster steering its way through the sky toward Jacklyn.
One video showed the landing itself, during which the booster sidled over to Jacklyn rather than drop directly onto it from above.
"We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly," Bezos wrote in the Friday morning (Nov. 14) X post that featured this video. "We’ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday. Amazing performance by the team! Gradatim Ferociter."
(Gradatim Ferociter, Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously," is Blue Origin's motto.)
Blue Origin named the first stage that flew on Thursday "Never Tell Me the Odds," a nod to the perceived improbability of a successful touchdown.
"It turns out 'Never Tell Me The Odds' had perfect odds — never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a company statement. "This is just the beginning as we rapidly scale our flight cadence and continue delivering for our customers."
Each New Glenn first stage is designed to fly at least 25 times, according to Blue Origin. "Never Tell Me the Odds" looks intact — startlingly clean, in fact — in post-landing photos, so don't be surprised to see the booster on the pad again before too much longer.
latest_posts
- 1
Falcon 9 rocket launches Starlink satellites before making 550th SpaceX landing (video) - 2
Watch interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS make its closest approach to Earth in free livestream on Dec. 18 - 3
The most effective method to Shake Hands During a Pandemic: Wellbeing Tips and Behavior - 4
Finding Ideal Date Spots for Two or three Encounters - 5
Toyota Motor Europe to roll out smart EV charging through new partnerships
There are thousands of aligned holes in Peru. Archaeologists now think they know who made them
World leaders, rights groups react to COP30 climate deal
Avoid Slam: Exploring the Pickup Truck Transformation
The most effective method to Offset Album Rates with Liquidity Needs
Novo Nordisk cuts Wegovy price as CEO pledges to go 'all in' on weight loss pill
Genesis Marks 10th Anniversary With Magma GT Concept Aimed at High-Performance Flagships
MacArthur Foundation awards $100M to outbreak surveillance network, a boost amid global health cuts
Figure out How to Consolidate Cutting edge innovations in Senior's SUVs
NASA unveils close-up pictures of the comet popping by from another star













