Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch: how to watch live

Following a scrubbed launch attempt and weather-related delays, Blue Origin will once again try to send its New Glenn rocket into space for the first time. During the attempt, the Jeff Bezos-owned space company aims to reach orbit, helping to further its goals of shuttling Project Kuiper satellites, equipment, and eventually humans into space.

Here’s what you need to know about when and how to watch New Glenn’s long-awaited inaugural launch.

The rocket has a reusable first stage powered by the company’s BE-4 engines, which run on liquified natural gas and liquid oxygen. Shortly after launch, the first stage is supposed to detach and autonomously land upright on a sea-based platform, where Blue Origin can then retrieve it and reuse it for future missions.

Following separation, New Glenn’s upper stage should fire up its BE-3U engines — a less powerful engine that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen — as it attempts to propel itself into space with its payload. The upper stage is capable of delivering 45 metric tons of cargo into low Earth orbit.

For this uncrewed launch, New Glenn will house the Blue Ring Pathfinder, a payload consisting of a communications array, a power system, and a flight computer. This will let Blue Origin test its Blue Ring spacecraft, which will eventually support missions with refueling, hosting, data relay, and cloud computing capabilities.

Blue Origin’s next launch attempt will take place at Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Thursday, January 16th. The three-hour launch window opens at 1AM ET (10PM PT).