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Blue Origin has achieved an important milestone with its New Glenn NG-1 rocket, successfully completing a 24-second hotfire of the rocket\u2019s BE-4 engines in preparation for an expected test flight in the coming days.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n This was the first time the entire vehicle, including the first and second stages, were tested as a fully integrated system, alongside the ground systems at the launch pad. It gave the engineers a chance to do a dress rehearsal of all the procedures required for launch, and check how well simulation data matches real-world scenarios.<\/p>\n Blue Origin confirmed in a press release that \u201call seven engines performed nominally, firing for 24 seconds, including at 100% thrust for 13 seconds.\u201d The pressurization systems for the first and second stages also performed nominally.<\/p>\n Although New Glenn has yet to fly, its BE-4 methane engines have already reached orbit.<\/p>\n Twice in 2024 ULA\u2019s Vulcan rocket \u2013 the successor to the Atlas V, which had been ULA\u2019s heavy-lift workhorse for two decades \u2013 reached orbit using BE-4 engines provided by Blue Origin. <\/p>\n In both instances the engines performed nominally, even demonstrating that they could compensate for eventualities: When one of Vulcan\u2019s solid rocket boosters had an anomaly on the second flight, the main engines extended their burn by 20 seconds to keep the rocket on a nominal trajectory.<\/p>\n New Glenn, which has been in development since 2013, uses BE-4 engines on its first stage as well. The rocket is expected to have its maiden flight imminently, with liftoff tentatively set for late evening on January 5 (EST).<\/p>\n The first stage of the rocket is intended to be reuseable, and Blue Origin has playfully nicknamed the first booster So You\u2019re Telling Me There\u2019s a Chance.<\/em> It will attempt to land aboard a vessel in the Atlantic following launch.<\/p>\n According to Reuters, Blue Origin has received FAA approval for the first flight, and the payload will include equipment related to Blue Ring, a Blue Origin program that will provide maneuverable spacecraft to the US Department of Defence.<\/p>\n Upcoming New Glenn launches are expected to carry payloads for NASA, various telecommunications providers, and will also launch Amazon\u2019s planned Project Kuiper, a mega-constellation competitor to SpaceX\u2019s Starlink.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE), a two-pronged Mars mission that was expected to launch in Fall 2024, was postponed to Spring 2025, and will now be carried on New Glenn\u2019s third flight.<\/p>\n The 98-meter tall rocket has a 7-meter diameter and can carry 45,000km to Low Earth Orbit. With the full stack hotfire test complete, the path to New Glenn\u2019s maiden flight is wide open.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a monumental milestone and a glimpse of what\u2019s just around the corner for New Glenn\u2019s first launch,\u201d said Jarrett Jones, Senior Vice President, New Glenn, after the hotfire test. \u201cToday\u2019s success proves that our rigorous approach to testing\u2013combined with our incredible tooling and design engineering\u2013is working as intended.\u201d<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n