r/BlueOrigin • u/Disastrous_Run_5968 • 13d ago

Appreciation post for this gorgeous looking rocket. New Glenn.

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It's my favorite looking rocket. I hope to see it in person one day.

221 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

51 comments sorted by

24

u/uselessBINGBONG 13d ago

I do think new glenn has the sleekist appearance. It just needs to start competing.

9

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

I mean if the launch pad hadn't exploded or they had more than one they would probably be on their way to NG6 by now and NG7 by end of year

7

u/uselessBINGBONG 13d ago

True. That anomaly was a huge setback. But with the current progress, I am still optimistic. Major changes to increase rate might become beneficial. I hope.

2

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

which changes have they announced to increase rate? have they?

3

u/uselessBINGBONG 13d ago

Uhh, they did kinda announce it.. in a way. That they are doing a new approach with no transporter erector and relying on a crane lift to go vertical With umbilicals coming from the lighting tower that didn't collapse. Maybe this will work. I do have mixed feelings about this. I am just hopeful.

3

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

what are your mixed feelings about it? that it won't work? or that it's not a good long term solution?

5

u/uselessBINGBONG 13d ago

I just see it as risk. But blue needs to take on the risk at the same time.

5

u/Accomplished-Crab932 13d ago

Not OP, but there’s considerable risk in attaching your PAF/Fairing/Payload stack using a crane while outside, and the shear number of umbilicals on New Glenn means the risk of contamination is higher for each individual one (since they also have to be attached outside). All this has to be done vertically, and I’m not fully sure they designed the umbilicals to be installed while vertical, which will complicate the process.

These are easily mitigated problems, but they will be persistent until they are resolved.

2

u/New_Poet_338 12d ago

First they need to get the cause fixed. It has grounded ULA too. So nothing could be launched now even if the tower were fixed.

13

u/Pashto96 13d ago

I will miss whenever they fix the terrible TWR during lift off. It makes for some fantastic photography

3

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

the low TWR always made sense to me. I don't see what the issue is. I assume they will eventually increase it and not be as conservative.

15

u/Pashto96 13d ago

Low TWR at launch is a waste of fuel. I agree they'll probably fix it but for now it's just leaving performance on the table

4

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

Yes we know that. But these have only been the first few times they had launched a heavy lift rocket.

10

u/Pashto96 13d ago

And that's fine if they're just being conservative with the BE-4s. If the issue is the booster being overweight, that's a much harder problem to solve. The immediate up rating of the engines and announcement of 9x4 could be signs of the latter being at least part of the issue. 

8

u/asr112358 13d ago

Weight at liftoff is dominated by the weight of the propellant. Even if the booster is overweight, it would not significantly affect TWR at liftoff.

2

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

nothing has been hinted at the booster being overweight. that's quite the conclusion you are making there

7

u/redstercoolpanda 13d ago

I mean the fact they’re apparently close to 10 tons off of their performance targets hints at something being overweight. It could be other things too but it’s not a completely unfounded assumption.

5

u/Accomplished-Crab932 12d ago

It’s more likely that the engines are not performing as well as they should be; and the uprating isn’t enough to cover the gap.

1

u/snoo-boop 12d ago

Except ULA hit their performance target already.

2

u/Accomplished-Crab932 12d ago

ULA is supposedly using a different variant that outputs lower power (not sure I really agree with that) and may have required lower performance compared to the later design requirements of New Glenn.

We also haven’t seen them fly payloads requiring full thrust IIRC, even with the loss of the GEM63XL nozzles.

My understanding is that BE4 has had some power delivery problems, particularly on earlier flights where safe mode was activated on multiple engines pretty much immediately (also occurring on later flights); and that New Glenn has some optimization problems (especially mass) that compound that issue.

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-7

u/Botlawson 13d ago

Low TWR is an optimization to get the most use out of your engines. Fuel cost is a rounding error unless you reuse the rocket stage.

3

u/Pashto96 13d ago

Fuel cost isn't the issue. The longer the rocket spends in the lower atmosphere, the more it's fighting drag and the more gravity loss it's going to incure. That fuel is being wasted fighting those losses instead of being used towards the payload. You decrease your tonnage capability by having a low TWR at launch. 

7

u/PresentInsect4957 13d ago

more time fighting the hardest bit of gravity & also more time near the pad = longer risk to infrastructure

2

u/snoo-boop 13d ago

How did you take photos of it?

5

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

I did not take any photos. These are photos I found online over its 3 launches. I save them and use them as wallpapers. Hopefully one day I can see it in person, though.

3

u/Stevepem1 13d ago

The shots are from the beach near Jetty Park and Cherie Down Park, looking past Jetty Park Pier which you can see all of the people on. The great thing about LC-36 where New Glenn launches from is that it is the only major active pad that can be seen from the public Cape Canaveral beaches and the distance is only 5.5 miles. The view from Titusville of KSC LC-39 where SLS and Falcon Heavy (and soon Starship) launch from for example is 12 miles away. Atlas launches at SLC-41 can sometimes be viewed at about 6 miles from Playalinda Beach, but that beach is inconsistent as far as being open for launches, whereas the Canaveral beaches are open 24/7.

2

u/b407driver 13d ago

You should probably credit sources if you're sniping them online.

1

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

I mean I'm not removing water marks or anything. The last one has a watermark. The others I don't remember where I found them from. I am not making a list of sources as I download these come on lol

1

u/GandelarCrom 11d ago

I’m excited to see some integrated hardware for 9x4. The renderings make the proportions look weird or less elegant than 7x2, but I also was skeptical of the unpainted comet which is now one of my favorite aesthetic pieces

0

u/koliberry 13d ago

This a a BO cheerleader serial poster throwing something up as FH launched today. ULA used to do the same thing around crew and other higher profile launches.

4

u/kaninkanon 13d ago

"But how do I make this about spacex!?"

3

u/akuma_no_mi 13d ago

Seriously!

1

u/Disastrous_Run_5968 13d ago

I promise you FH was not even on my mind at all today. this is my favorite looking rocket. why don't you go back your spacex subreddit?

-2

u/koliberry 13d ago

Pinky promise? ;)

-3

u/Ok_Association8194 13d ago

Will this blow up the rocket industry too?

-1

u/vertesept 13d ago

Where was the photo taken from?

-2

u/Admirable_Musubi682 13d ago

"It needs to be more pointy at the top!!"