S8 Ep111: Bob Zimmerman reports that Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital rocket successfully completed its second launch, including landing the first stage and demonstrating reuse capability comparable to Falcon 9. New Glenn, larger than Falcon 9, is scheduled for upgr

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🗓️ 22 November 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

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Summary

Bob Zimmerman reports that Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital rocket successfully completed its second launch, including landing the first stage and demonstrating reuse capability comparable to Falcon 9. New Glenn, larger than Falcon 9, is scheduled for upgrades with more powerful BE4 and BE3U engines, making it nearly comparable to NASA's costly and expendable SLS rocket. Rocket Lab set a new annual launch record with 15 successful orbital launches, surpassing Russia's frequency, and has conducted suborbital HASTE launches for military testing. India is upgrading its largest LVM rocket's upper stage for multiple restarts, essential for its space station and crewed missions. The US State Department opposes a proposed European Union space law seeking to impose EU regulations on companies from other nations, potentially discrediting the EU if passed. Finally, NASA has hired startup Catalyst to attempt a daring robotic rescue of the decaying Swift telescope.
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0:00.0	This is CBS, I on the World. I'm John Batchel. Behind the Black. November is behind the black
0:07.6	subscription and donation. Your generosity is much appreciated. Bob Zimmerman is here to take us through
0:14.4	private space and now and again a nod to big space. There are lots of changes stemming from the
0:20.7	success of new gland, but lots of moving
0:23.6	parts here for everyone looking to the future, especially Blue Origin. They seem to be advancing
0:30.7	even as we speak. Bob, a very good evening to you. Blue Origin has plans. I remember the other day
0:36.5	I asked about the wonderful world of boosters,
0:40.4	and I believe super heavy is number one, SpaceX, and then the SLS was two, and then New
0:46.8	Glen is number three. Is that changing? Good evening to you, Bob. No, that order doesn't even
0:51.2	make sense to me, John. I'm sorry. Your memory is not exactly right.
0:56.0	SpaceX, of course, is trying to develop starship super heavy,
0:58.8	which would be the biggest, most powerful rocket ever made and completely reusable.
1:04.6	SLS, NASA's been trying to make for 20 years the SLS rocket, which is expendable,
1:09.9	costs 100 times more, can't launch as often,
1:13.6	and it's basically a bad idea. And then Blue Origin has been trying and successfully finally
1:20.3	to develop its new Glenn orbital rocket. It started its development the same time as the Falcon 9.
1:26.3	It only began to make its first launch early this year.
1:31.3	It completed its second launch just last week.
1:34.1	That second launch was significant because they successfully landed the first stage,
1:39.3	which means they have the capability now of reusing first stages, just like Falcon 9. What makes New
1:46.1	Glenn interesting is because it's a bigger rocket than the Falcon 9. It can launch more payload.
1:52.1	The news this week is that shortly after that launch, the Blue Origin announced planned upgrades for New Glenn that are going to begin on the very next launch early next year.
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