Hi friends, it’s your Space Coast correspondent James Sparvero passing along some big news that Blue Origin broke over the weekend. We’ve been waiting years, and now Jeff Bezos’ space company says its new 300-foot-tall New Glenn rocket could finally launch on Oct. 13.
I’ve been really looking forward to this launch since Blue Origin’s $1 billion launch pad starting taking shape at the Cape. I think it’s gonna be really special because you have a direct view of the giant pad for several miles down the beach. I’ve spotted it on clear days in South Patrick Shores!
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New Glenn has also been in our news over the years because it’s being built here. Maybe you’ve noticed Blue Origin’s rocket factory the last time you went to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. It’s just across the street!
New Glenn’s first mission will be launching NASA’s ESCAPADE satellites toward Mars! New Glenn is about the height of NASA’s SLS, so I’m thinking the maiden launch could feel like watching Artemis I!
Later, New Glenn will launch Bezos’ Internet constellation, which he hopes will rival SpaceX’s Starlink - Project Kuiper. New Glenn will also compete with rockets from SpaceX and ULA to launch top-secret national security missions.
📧 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 eight 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!
