Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket sits upright at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
Preparations began in earnest hours before liftoff, when liquid hydrogen began flowing into New Glenn's propellant tanks.
Ten minutes before liftoff time, launch managers conduct a “go poll” asking people if the rocket's systems are ready and if weather conditions are favorable.
The last four minutes before liftoff are the “terminal count,” when the rocket's computer takes over the countdown process.
The seven engines in the booster ignite 5.6 seconds before liftoff. This gives the computer a chance to check the engine's performance before starting the launch. If something is not right, the engine will stall.
If all goes well, the clamps holding the rocket will be released and New Glenn will rise into the sky.
The decisive moment comes 1 minute and 39 seconds after liftoff. The rocket passes through the so-called max-Q, where the atmospheric pressure on the rocket is at its maximum.
If you make it through that moment unscathed, three minutes into the flight the boosters will have completed pushing the rocket upwards and the engines will shut down. The engine shuts off after 12 seconds, and the second stage engine ignites 9 seconds later.
Shortly thereafter, the fairing (the two halves of the nose cone that protects the payload) is thrown out. At that altitude, the atmosphere is thin enough that a fairing is no longer needed.
Over the next few minutes, the booster lights up twice as it attempts to land on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean named “Jacklin” after Jeff Bezos' mother.
Meanwhile, the second stage engine continues to burn until nearly 13 minutes after liftoff, then shuts down.
Blue Origin will then switch on its prototype space tug, Blue Ring, to test communications, power and computer systems. It will remain attached to the rocket's second stage.
About an hour after liftoff, the second stage will ignite its engines again and propel itself into a high elliptical orbit, bringing it up to 1,500 miles from Earth and flying out some 12,000 miles. This is much higher than launching into low Earth orbit several hundred miles above.
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said in an interview Sunday that the orbit will allow testing of communications systems at different altitudes. “And the vehicle is going to be in a very harsh radiation environment, so we want to test that as well,” he said.
The mission will end approximately six hours after launch. The rocket stage and blue ring systems are secured and powered down, continuing in an elliptical orbit. There are very few other satellites occupying that area, so there is little chance of it colliding with other satellites.
“It will be disposed of on the spot,” Bezos said.
