Blue Origin Delays Its New Glenn Debut to Late 2022

Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, delays its New Glenn debut. Since the US Space Force did not choose the rocket for the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, the company has no reason to rush with its heavy-weight rocket deployment. To date, the first launch is estimated for the fourth quarter of 2022. 

New Glenn Debut Delay: What Does This Mean for Blue Origin 

Even though the New Glenn debut has been postponed, Blue Origin still has what it takes to compete for leadership in the aerospace business niche. Of course, this competition will be tough because, to date, SpaceX and Falcon9 are confidently ahead in this race. The latter has been awarded multi-billion dollar contracts from United Launch Alliance (ULA), backed up by Boeing Co and Lockheed Martin Corp. Sadly for Blue Origin, this company did not secure any launch contracts.

On the other hand, Blue Origin is still competing for NASA’s multi-billion dollar moon mission. NASA will soon have to choose one of the three companies to build a lunar lander, with Blue Origin, SpaceX and Dynetics all potential candidates to become the lucky winners. 

According to Blue Origin chief executives, winning the contract and building a lunar lander for NASA is one of their top priorities. Delayed New Glenn debut aside, a lunar lander contract will solidify Origin’s position in the aerospace niche and will finally give the company an opportunity to move into profit. 

Even though SpaceX remains a strong competitor, this company also faces challenges of its own. Less than a week ago, the company had to postpone launching another batch of its Starlink satellites. So, despite strong competition and a delayed New Glenn debut, Blue Origin still has high odds of landing a NASA lunar lander contract.