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Jeff Bezos New Glenn Rocket Ready for Flight! · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  So what sets Blue Origins New Glen rocket apart from Starship
• 0:04
  and Spacex's other array of Falcon rockets?
• 0:07
  Will it successfully compete with them, or has it already
• 0:10
  fallen behind before its first launch?
• 0:13
  Now these are just a few questions looming as the rocket
• 0:17
  prepares to launch its first orbital mission.
• 0:21
  This is New Glen, and it's going to be launching from a pad in
• 0:25
  Florida. Now this is set to debut after
• 0:27
  more than 25 years in the making.
• 0:30
  Since Blue Origins, founding, New Glenn has faced numerous
• 0:33
  delays, yet anticipation is building as it readies to take
• 0:38
  flight in a market increasingly dominated by SpaceX and its
• 0:42
  powerful Starship and Falcon series rockets.
• 0:44
  Despite being overshadowed by the sheer size of Spacex's
• 0:47
  Starship system, New Glen was once hailed as groundbreaking
• 0:52
  when first announced in 2016, and at that time, most emerging
• 0:55
  aerospace companies were focusing on designing smaller,
• 0:59
  more cost effective rockets. A Blue Origin, in contrast,
• 1:03
  declared its ambition to create one of the largest orbital
• 1:07
  rockets ever built. Now towering at 98 meters tall
• 1:11
  and featuring a core stage 7 meters wide, New Glen rivals the
• 1:16
  payload capacity of Spacex's Falcon Heavy while incorporating
• 1:20
  more modern design elements and increased reusability.
• 1:24
  Now the rocket boasts A2 stage design, with the first stage
• 1:27
  powered by 7 B E4 engines burning methane and liquid
• 1:31
  oxygen. The second stage uses a pair of
• 1:34
  BE3U hydrogen burning engines optimized for operations in
• 1:39
  space. And according to Blue Origin,
• 1:41
  New Glen's first stage is designed for full reusability
• 1:46
  right from its inaugural launch, which is a key distinction from
• 1:49
  other launch system that often introduced reusability features
• 1:53
  little bit more gradually. Now, 1 of New Glen's standout
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  features is its massive payload fairing, measuring 7 meters on
• 2:00
  diameter and 17 meters tall. These dimensions make it the
• 2:05
  largest fairing available in the commercial launch market,
• 2:08
  providing ample space for payloads that may be too large
• 2:12
  or oddly shaped for Spacex's Falcon rockets.
• 2:15
  As Blue Origin prepares for the debut mission, the company's
• 2:19
  first payload is a small satellite bus known as Blue
• 2:23
  Ring. Equipped with its own propulsion
• 2:25
  and power systems, New Blends Propulsion System showcases a
• 2:29
  blend of technological choices that reflect a methodical
• 2:32
  approach to balancing performance and reliability.
• 2:36
  It's first stage BE4 engines, for instance, employ an oxidizer
• 2:40
  rich stage combustion cycle using methane and liquid oxygen.
• 2:46
  Now these engines have lower chamber pressures than Spacex's
• 2:50
  Raptor engines. This is a deliberate decision
• 2:52
  aimed at extending engine lifespan and also improving
• 2:56
  reusability. While SpaceX continually pushes
• 2:59
  for maximum performance from smaller engines by increasing
• 3:02
  pressure, Blue Origin's more conservative design philosophy
• 3:06
  favors long term reliability. The UER stage of New Glen uses a
• 3:11
  different engine cycle than the first stage.
• 3:13
  Its BE 3U engines rely on an expander cycle that vaporizes
• 3:18
  hydrogen to drive turbines and also run pumps.
• 3:22
  This design sacrifices some efficiency for increased thrust,
• 3:25
  but remains effective for high altitude and space maneuvers.
• 3:29
  The result is a highly capable upper stage the Blue Origin
• 3:33
  claims is more efficient than Spacex's Falcon 9 upper stage,
• 3:37
  though not quite at the level of the Centaur stage used by United
• 3:42
  Launch Alliance or the ula. New Glen's landing system also
• 3:46
  differentiates it from competitors.
• 3:48
  Unlike Spacex's grid fins, Blue Origin uses a more traditional
• 3:52
  diamond shaped fin design combined with strikes to enhance
• 3:56
  lift and cross range capability during descent.
• 3:58
  The first stage includes cold gas thrusters for in flight
• 4:02
  attitude adjustments and also features 6 landing legs which
• 4:06
  Starship doesn't have seamlessly integrated into its F section.
• 4:10
  According to CEO David Limp, these legs are capable of
• 4:14
  withstanding impacts up to 150 tons, enabling precise and safe
• 4:21
  landing on a recovery barge named Jacqueline, which is
• 4:25
  positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 4:28
  A key difference between Blue Origin and SpaceX lies in their
• 4:31
  development strategies. While SpaceX adopts a rapid,
• 4:35
  iterative approach, often launching early prototypes to
• 4:38
  gather real world data and refined designs, now, Blue
• 4:42
  Origin emphasizes exhaustive testing before any public
• 4:46
  launches. This methodical approach may
• 4:48
  limit the number of launches in the short term, but aligns with
• 4:52
  Blue Origin strategy of ensuring a high success rate from the
• 4:56
  outset. Notably, NASA has enough
• 4:59
  confidence in Blue Origin's testing protocols to plan a Mars
• 5:02
  mission using New Glenn's first flight before scheduling
• 5:05
  conflicts cause delays. That flight has been cancelled
• 5:08
  now, despite years of preparation.
• 5:10
  Blue Origin faces significant competition, though, because
• 5:14
  Spacex's Starship exists, which aims for complete and full
• 5:18
  reusability across all of its stages, and it's shifted the
• 5:21
  industry standard and dwarfs other rockets in terms of sheer
• 5:25
  payload capacity and size. Now, Starship's design presents
• 5:29
  challenges for smaller satellite deployments due to the limited
• 5:33
  size of its payload Bay doors, which contrasts sharply with New
• 5:38
  Glen's spacious fairing design. Starship may capture attention
• 5:42
  and its size with ambitions. New Glen targets a different
• 5:45
  niche in the market with a hydrogen powered upward stage.
• 5:49
  The rocket is well suited for missions to geostationary orbit,
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  the moon and possibly even Mars without requiring the complex
• 5:58
  refueling maneuvers that Starship demands for
• 6:01
  interplanetary travel. It's going to take them about 10
• 6:03
  refuels for Spacex's Starship to get to the moon, and New Glen's
• 6:07
  market prospects also extend beyond exploration missions.
• 6:11
  Blue Origins connections to Amazon through Jeff Bezos opened
• 6:15
  the door launcher for Kuiper satellites.
• 6:19
  Amazon's answers to Spacex's Starlight constellation.
• 6:23
  Other clients including One Web and Eulstat have already
• 6:27
  expressed interest in using New Glen for their payload.
• 6:31
  While Blue Origin had initially considered a three stage version
• 6:34
  of New Glen for very deep space missions, its current focus
• 6:38
  remains on providing the capabilities to customers with
• 6:43
  their two stage variant. The company has also explored
• 6:46
  developing a reusable upper stage under the code name
• 6:49
  Project Jarvis as part of its vision to create Full, fully
• 6:53
  reusable launch vehicles. Such advancements would place
• 6:56
  New Glenn in direct competition with Starship, and despite
• 6:59
  facing stiff competition, Blue Origins, careful planning,
• 7:02
  innovative design elements, and diverse customer base provide a
• 7:06
  strong foundation as it moved toward this debut launch.
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  The company's method? The company's methodical
• 7:14
  approach and readiness to cater to specific market needs show
• 7:18
  that it has a really good strategy for long term viability
• 7:22
  in an industry where RAID innovation and reliability are
• 7:26
  equally as critical.