
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket had a very big day on Thursday (Nov. 13), and a new video lets us all relive part of it.
New Glenn launched for the second time ever on Thursday afternoon, successfully sending NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes into the final frontier from Florida's Space Coast.
But that wasn't all. The two-stage rocket's huge first stage came back to Earth as planned, acing a landing on "Jacklyn," Blue Origin's drone ship, which was stationed about 375 miles (604 kilometers) offshore.
Previously, only one company had ever pulled off this dramatic maneuver — SpaceX, which has pioneered the recovery and reuse of orbital rockets.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos celebrated the New Glenn landing on X, posting several videos of the 188-foot-tall (57 meters) booster steering its way through the sky toward Jacklyn.
One video showed the landing itself, during which the booster sidled over to Jacklyn rather than drop directly onto it from above.
"We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly," Bezos wrote in the Friday morning (Nov. 14) X post that featured this video. "We’ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday. Amazing performance by the team! Gradatim Ferociter."
(Gradatim Ferociter, Latin for "Step by Step, Ferociously," is Blue Origin's motto.)
Blue Origin named the first stage that flew on Thursday "Never Tell Me the Odds," a nod to the perceived improbability of a successful touchdown.
"It turns out 'Never Tell Me The Odds' had perfect odds — never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try," Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a company statement. "This is just the beginning as we rapidly scale our flight cadence and continue delivering for our customers."
Each New Glenn first stage is designed to fly at least 25 times, according to Blue Origin. "Never Tell Me the Odds" looks intact — startlingly clean, in fact — in post-landing photos, so don't be surprised to see the booster on the pad again before too much longer.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
David Duchovny's new thriller has him stripping down at 65. But its chilling premise hits close to home. - 2
Landon Donovan knew he couldn’t hide his hair loss. So he turned to fans for help. - 3
Roman around the Christmas tree | Space photo of the day for Dec. 25, 2025 - 4
Turkey's Erdogan denounces Israel-Greece-Cyprus trilateral summit, affirms support for Gaza - 5
Tech for Efficiency: Applications and Apparatuses to Accomplish More
NASA satellite gazes into Medusa Pool | Space photo of the day for Dec. 24, 2025
South Korea to End Bear Bile Farming and Find New Homes for the 200 Bears Stuck in the Industry
Germany's Deutsche Welle broadcaster declared 'undesirable' in Russia
Former GLP-1 users regain lost weight after about 18 months, study says
OPEC’s No. 2 Producer Burns Its Own Gas—Then Buys Iran’s
Email Promoting Instruments for Compelling Efforts
Lilly, Novo lock horns in India's obesity drug race
Vote in favor of the bloom plan that adds a bit of excellence to your life!
What happened in 'Wicked' part 1 and will there be a 3rd movie? Recap and what Ariana Grande, Jon M. Chu have said about a sequel.













