Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket has completed its final major test before its first-ever launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The test included an integrated vehicle hotfire, during which all seven of New Glenn’s first-stage BE-4 engines fired simultaneously for 24 seconds on the launch pad. The engines were brought up to 100% thrust for 13 seconds during the test. The rocket is named after John Glenn and has been in development for over a decade.
The hotfire test, which occurred just hours after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a five-year license for New Glenn launches and landings, was described as a monumental milestone by Blue Origin’s senior vice president for New Glenn, Jarrett Jones. The successful completion of the test is seen as a glimpse of what’s to come for New Glenn’s first launch, which is expected to take place soon. The rocket’s first launch will carry Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinder, a demonstrator spacecraft that will test the company’s Blue Ring space mobility platform.
At its maximum capacity, New Glenn’s first-stage engines are designed to generate 3.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, which is approximately half the thrust produced by the Saturn V rocket during the Apollo era. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated that the seven BE-4 engines on New Glenn produce enough horsepower to propel two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers at full tilt. The hotfire test demonstrated that the rocket’s rigorous testing process, combined with its design engineering, is working as intended.
Blue Origin has several New Glenn vehicles in production at its Florida factory and has filled out a full customer manifest for launches in the months ahead. Some of the high-profile missions planned include satellite launches for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband constellation and the launch of twin orbiters for NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars. New Glenn’s first launch will also be part of the certification process for the U.S. Space Force’s National Security Space Launch program.
The first launch of New Glenn is eagerly anticipated and is seen as a significant step forward for Blue Origin’s space ventures. The successful completion of the integrated vehicle hotfire test is a reassuring sign that the rocket is on track for its inaugural launch. Blue Origin’s dedication to thorough testing and design engineering has been validated through this test, and the company is now preparing for the launch by mating the encapsulated payload before the final countdown to liftoff. With multiple New Glenn vehicles in production and a full customer manifest, the future of the rocket and Blue Origin’s role in space exploration looks promising.
