
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
Scientists uncover an ant assassination scheme that helps a parasitic queen rise to power - 2
Zelensky warns of imminent massive Russian attack on Ukraine - 3
Sound Propensities: 20 Methods for helping Your Insusceptible Framework - 4
New movies to watch this weekend: See 'Predator: Badlands' in theaters, rent 'Black Phone 2,' stream Guillermo del Toro's 'Frankenstein' on Netflix - 5
Israel's fractured opposition hands Netanyahu a full term
COGAT discovers motor oil hidden inside UN's humanitarian aid to Gaza in smuggling attempt
Figure out How to Score Huge with Open Record Rewards
Germany to create restitution council to return colonia-era acquired cultural artefacts
Tech giants accused of not complying with Australian social media ban
Pilot captures jaw-dropping northern lights show from 36,000 feet (photos)
NASA's make-or-break moon shot
Planet-eating stars hint at Earth's ultimate fate
Figure out How to Keep up with and Clean Your Brilliant Bed for Ideal Execution
Orcas seen hunting great white sharks to eat their livers in drone footage recorded in Mexico













