Blue Origin postpones New Glenn's maiden flight to January 12

Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin has postponed the inaugural launch of its New Glenn rocket to January 12, the day before SpaceX hopes to launch another Starship test flight.

According to Blue Origin's team, the shift to a three-hour window opening at 0600 UTC on January 12 is due to unfavorable conditions in the Atlantic, where it hopes to land the first stage on a barge.

The landing isn't the primary goal of the first New Glenn launch. Earlier today, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp described it as a "bonus," but a shift of a few days to improve the chances of success seems sensible. The mission's primary objective is for the much-delayed rocket to finally reach orbit.

SpaceX has been landing the first stage of its Falcon 9 booster on floating platforms for years, demonstrating that the technique is feasible and making what seemed almost impossible a ...