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Thursday, January 9, 2025
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Thursday, January 9, 2025

The ‘original’ John Glenn gave his ‘go’ for Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket


John Glenn’s last correspondence before his death was to approve the use of his name for Blue Origin’s first orbital-class rocket.

Nine years later, the “New Glenn” is ready for its inaugural launch. Though he did not live to see it come about, Glenn — the first American to orbit Earth in 1962 — hailed the booster’s soon-to-be-demonstrated capabilities for what they could hold for the future of human spaceflight.

“As the original Glenn, I can tell you I see the day coming when people will board spacecraft the same way millions of us now board jetliners,” wrote the Mercury astronaut and U.S. Senator in 2016, adding that he was “deeply touched” that the New Glenn would fly with his name.

John Glenn, the first American to fly into orbit, gives his thumbs up in 1962, just as he did (figuratively) in reaction to Blue Origin’s New Glenn orbital rocket being given his name in 2016. (Image credit: NASA)

One of the key factors to that future becoming a reality is the ability “to get to space more often and more inexpensively,” Glenn wrote, which is why the New Glenn was designed to “be reused over and over again.”



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