
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
Man threatens attack on German high-speed train, injures several - 2
Step by step instructions to Pick the Right Sunlight powered charger Type for Your Home - 3
The Leonid meteor shower is peaking early this week. Here’s what to know - 4
Artemis II's moon-bound astronauts capture Earth's brilliant blue beauty as they leave it behind - 5
Nikki Glaser has been testing out Golden Globes jokes. There's one nobody wants to hear
Flu illness count nears 5 million, with New York City among the hardest hit
Astronauts on the ISS watched NASA's historic Artemis 2 launch from space
Jasmine Crockett in, Colin Allred out: A major shakeup for Democrats in their quest to finally win a Senate seat in Texas
Two more UN peacekeepers killed in southern Lebanon: UNIFIL
They want better health care — so they're turning to crypto startups
Merz: 80% of Syrians in Germany should return in three years
Palestinian infant freezes to death in Gaza as Israel keeps blocking aid
‘Raising 10 red flags’: Is Israel’s army exhausted?
Washington resident contracts bird flu, first human case in U.S. since February












