There were gamy hopes for the maid launching of Blue Origin ’s New Glenn rocket on Sunday , but woefully , it was n’t to be .
The tardy - dark NG-1 mission was supposed to be a giant leap for Blue Origin rocket applied science , but the 98 - m - tall vehicle failed to get off the ground as design .
Blue Origin ’s alive flow kicked off at midnight ET , 60 minute before the three - hour launching windowpane opened for the New Glenn ’s departure from Cape Canaveral in Florida .
welcome viewers to the stream , presenters Ariane Cornell and Denisse Aranda spoke sky-high as they share their turmoil for the debut trajectory of Blue Origin ’s first orbital rocket .
“ This is happening , ” Ariane said . Except that it was n’t .
At around 12:30 a.m. , with 27 minutes to go until the first launching opportunity , the watercourse unload in on a bunch of Thomas Kyd and their parent wait to watch the launching from a park close to Cape Canaveral . The children smiled and cheered , perhaps in anticipation of the at hand liftoff , though unquestionably because they were upwaypast their bedtimes . We also bring down Blue Origin employee at multiple sites across the U.S. , cheering excitedly onwards of launch . The one that did n’t quite materialize .
Early on , things seemed to be go smoothly enough for the spaceflight company founded by Jeff Bezos . But then , just 17 minute from liftoff , the countdown clock on the screen of a sudden go away before apace re-emerge with an excess 20 arcminute add up . If you wink , you would ’ve missed it .
“ They just need a couple more minutes … that is A - all right with all of us , ” Cornell sound out in a reassuring representative that give no indicant of what was occur .
The holdup ease up the springy current more time to roleplay all of the prepared video cut-in explaining everything about the New Glenn skyrocket and its Blue Ring Pathfinder payload .
But disappointingly , 11 arcminute by and by , the countdown clock jump again , adding another 14 transactions to take it back to 33 minutes . tribe watching the stream at home may have start to wonder if the problem was with the clock itself , not with the rocket . At this rate , unless the engineers could work out why the darn clock kept add minutes , we could be stick here for week .
But then things began to look up as the clock ticked all the direction down to 9 transactions before launch … before suddenly readjust to 29 moment . There was reference of a checklist that the Blue Origin railroad engineer had to get through .
Popular YouTuber Tim Dodd of Everyday Astronaut , who was run his own live streamcommentating on the commentator , took a recondite breath . “ Oh no , another postponement . You know , it ’s not idealistic for my sleep schedule , it ’s really not , ” he tell .
Back at the green , the Kid were n’t smiling any longer . Approaching 2 a.m. ET , it reallywasway past their bedtime now . Even some of the parent had a “ it ’s direction past my bedtime , too ” feeling on their faces . Heck , even Bezos was probably suffocate a yawn or two . One small girl , who fortunately was still awake , was call for what she was most looking forth to about the launch . “ Going home once this is all over , ” she probably want to say , but staying on message like a true Blue Origin believer , she responded : “ For the rocket to go up into space . ” She did n’t know it then , but it was enquire a lot .
Promisingly , the clock continued to tick down , all the way to 14 minutes . And then it reset to 35 moment . This time around , Cornell , perhaps not want to believe it , did n’t even recognize the delay . spent folks at home may have started to enquire if their creative thinker was playing tricks on them .
Dodd emitted a chuckle of desperation , but tried to stay clear - headed about the situation . “ I expect this , I have a bun in the oven delays , I am not shocked by this , ” he say in a tone of vocalism that made you wonder if he really believed what he was saying .
By 2:15 a.m. , the prescribed Blue Origin alive stream appeared to have run out of video inserts , leaving viewing audience to stare at footage of a rocket still very much on terra firma .
At 11 minutes until liftoff , the countdown clock pass over yet again , resetting to 38 minute . “ Noooo , noooo , nooooo ! ” Dodd said , noting that Blue Origin ’s launching window was rapidly closing .
“ They ’re working through their checklist , ” Cornell say again , depart witness to marvel if the oft - note checklist , if laid out on a single piece of paper , might reach all the way to the moon .
The countdown clock made it to 12 minutes , and then , in its oddest switch yet , flipped to zero seconds . “ It ’s lifting off , it ’s lifting off , ” Dodd said , lend , “ It ’s not lifting off … that is not a good augury . ”
The Blue Origin live current photographic camera stayed firmly fixed on the New Glenn rocket , which itself appeared to be firmly fixed to the ground . Cornell and Aranda stay silent . Perhaps they ’d fall gone . sept learn the live stream continued to stare at the rocket . The silence was deafen . Had everyone gone home and forgotten to tell them ?
At around 3 ante meridiem , and mayhap after having just enjoyed a brief mightiness nap , Cornell retrovert to the stream to foretell that the launching had been scrubbed . The reason ? Not a incorrect countdown clock , but a “ vehicle subsystem issue . ”
Dodd tally it up before head to layer . “ I kind of expected that , to be dependable . Better to be safe than no-account . ”
He ’s right . It ’s not unusual for maid launches like this to face such issues . Blue Origin has to get it right , and it ’s just bad luck for the folks who stayed up late in anticipation of enjoying what should finally be a outstanding launching . There ’ll beanother prospect soon , and hopefully the New Glenn will finally get to fire up its rocket engines and head skyward .
Fancy another launching attempt ? SpaceX ’s Starship megarocket is supposed to lift off onits seventh test flight on Wednesday . But do keep an eye on that countdown clock .
