Terminal Count: Blue Origin aiming for New Glenn debut and Starship Flight 7

We’re only into the first full week of the new year, and it’s already looking pretty packed, with Blue Origin looking to debut its New Glenn rocket while SpaceX is gearing up for its seventh Starship rocket. Both of these missions could have dynamic schedules, so it’s possible we’ll just be stuck with a handful of Starlink missions as well.

Checkout the podcast version of Terminal Count here.

This week’s launches

• January 6 (Monday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 6-71 | 12:21 P.M. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
  • CASC | Long March 3 | Unknown Payload | 3:00 P.M. ET
    • LC-3, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, China
• January 8 (Wednesday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 12-11 | 10:24 A.M. ET
    • LC-39A, Kennedy Space Center, Florida
• January 9 (Thursday)
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | NROL-153 | 7:19 P.M. PT
    • SLC-4E, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California
• January 10 (Friday)
  • Blue Origin | New Glenn | Blue Ring Pathfinder | 1:00 A.M. ET
    • LC-36, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
  • SpaceX | Falcon 9 | Starlink Group 12-12 | 10:27 A.M. ET
    • SLC-40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida
  • SpaceX | Starship | Flight 7 | 4:00 P.M. CT
    • Pad A, Starbase, Texas

Quick News…

SpaceX launched a total of 138 rockets in 2024, a new record for the company. Nearly half of all the launches came from SLC-40 in Florida. This also accounted for the vast majority of the world’s launches, totaling 259, which is also a new record. [Space Explored / SpaceNews]

Russia launched its 2,000th R7 rocket over the holidays, a record that will likely stick around for a long time. The R7 rocket family, which includes the Soyuz rocket, has stood the test of time as a reliable rocket but also shows just how much the Russian industry lacks innovation. [ArsTechnica]

Russia is also planning to extend its ISS crew rotations from six months to potentially nine months. This will better meet the amount of science the crews can do on board but also reduce the number of launches per year Roscosmos conducts, saving costs. [TASS]

ULA is expecting to get Vulcan certified by the Space Force in early 2025, and has big plans to launch as many as 20 Vulcans this year, a goal that will be hard to meet for a company that hasn’t launched double-digit missions in quite some time. [Space Explored]

Starship Flight 7 is on the way

We’re once again on the heels of another SpaceX Starship launch, and this one is seemingly going to be another exciting one to watch. SpaceX laid out its goals for the seventh flight in an update that discussed deploying dummy Starlink satellites, testing out the new upgrades of the Block 2 ship, and gathering more flight data.

More interestingly, SpaceX shared that it would be doing its first bit of reuse, reflighting an engine on the booster that first flew on Flight 5. This will kickstart one of SpaceX’s 2025 Starship goals of beginning reuse.

Flight 7 is currently set for no earlier than Friday, but that could slip as SpaceX works on getting the launch vehicle ready for flight. Currently, Booster 14 is on the launch mount and is awaiting Ship 33 to be rolled out and stacked on top of it.

We also expect a wet dress rehearsal to be conducted before a final go is given for launch by SpaceX.

Blue Origin aiming for New Glenn debut

It’s been just over a week since Blue Origin successfully static-fired its first New Glenn rocket. The company hasn’t yet shared when the rocket’s debut launch will take place, but flight restrictions indicate it will be no earlier than Wednesday morning.

New Glenn will be the first heavy-lift reusable rocket to come online since the Falcon 9 swept the industry. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Blue Origin, has had reusability in his sights for a while now. The company will attempt to land the booster on its platform named “Jacklyn” at sea. A bold move for a new rocket on its first launch.

Inside the payload fairings will be the Blue Ring pathfinder. Blue Ring is expected to be Blue Origin’s platform for satellite buses, space stations, and more. This will also be the first certification mission for the Space Force. Blue Origin has been working towards getting national security missions on New Glenn for a while now. The lucrative flight contracts can make or break a company, so getting New Glenn online will be key for 2025.

This is to be the first of what is expected to be several New Glenn launches this year, including pathfinder flights of the company’s lunar lander. While the Artemis Program could be in for a massive change this year, interest in returning to the Moon likely won’t dip anytime soon.