Hi friends, it’s your Space Coast correspondent James Sparvero and if you’ve been to the beach over the last few days anywhere between Cape Canaveral and Satellite Beach, you may have noticed a new addition to the oceanfront skyline.
It’s been almost five years since I can remember Blue Origin’s launch pad being built at the Cape, and now Jeff Bezos’ New Glenn rocket is finally there, too!
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Like every new rocket I’ve reported on -- whether from the government or the private sector -- New Glenn has been delayed several years, but as of Wednesday, Blue Origin reports the 320-foot heavy-lift rocket is standing at the launch pad for the first time (LC-36 is just miles away from the rocket factory where New Glenn was built).
If you still haven’t seen it for yourself, Bezos’ space company says New Glenn will be vertical for at least a few more days for testing ahead of its first launch, which could be later this year (New Glenn was originally expected to fly as long ago as 2020).
Following the reusability model of SpaceX rockets, New Glenn’s first stage will also land after launch. The company expects to re-fly New Glenns up to 25 times! Individual SpaceX boosters have currently flown as many as 19 times.
And in addition to Amazon’s Internet constellation and top secret national security missions, New Glenn is also expected to launch lunar landers for NASA’s return to the moon under the Artemis program.
📧 Have any topics you’d like to discuss? Send me an email here.
👋 Here’s a little bit more about me.
Little did I know when watching Apollo 13 in the third grade that 20 years later, I was destined for a thrilling career as your Space Coast multimedia journalist.
Chemistry and biology weren’t so interesting to me in high school science, but I loved my Earth and Space class (Thanks, Mr. Lang).
Then in 2016, I traded Capitol correspondent in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for space correspondent. I’m proud that my first live report at News 6 happened to be the first time SpaceX landed a Falcon 9 booster on a barge. What seems so routine now was a really big deal that day in our newsroom!
From there, I’ve covered the Commercial Crew program and the return of human spaceflight to Kennedy Space Center (Demo-2 launched on my 33rd birthday!)
Now, as our coverage looks forward to missions to the moon and Mars, I often tell others I have the best job in local news. Because after all I’ve seen so far, I think I would be bored working somewhere else. I even bought a house near the Cape with a great view to the north so I never miss a launch even when I’m not working.
After seven years on the beat, though, I still consider myself a young space reporter and I always look forward to learning something new with every assignment.
Have a great launch into the rest of your week!