Fresh off the successful New Shepard NS-27 flight, Blue Origin is making intense preparations for the first flight of its long-awaited New Glenn heavy-lift rocket. The company has rolled out New Glenn’s first stage, equipped with seven BE-4 engines, for a static test firing. This is part of an effort to make the flight by the end of 2024.
The first New Glenn rocket first stage to fly, So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance, is now outfitted with its BE-4 engines and is close to being ready for testing. The first stage was rolled out to Launch Complex-36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station early Wednesday, Oct. 30.
Key tests will be conducted on the stage prior to its final preparations for flight. These could include a wet dress rehearsal or other tests. During the static firing — and any possible wet dress rehearsals — the stage will be filled with liquid methane and oxygen propellants. When the test firing does occur, the stage’s BE-4s will fire for a period of time. During launch, these BE-4s will generate more than 16.9 MN (3.8 million lbs) of thrust.
Seven BE-4 engines are shown installed on the New Glenn first stage before its rollout for its first flight. (Credit: Blue Origin)
New Glenn’s second stage has already been successfully tested, and a test stand that was used as part of the testing at LC-36 is now outside the complex’s hangar and not being worked on. This is a possible sign that testing of the second stage is done for now, with the focus being on testing the first stage.
New Glenn’s first launch not only depends on hardware readiness and the success of the upcoming tests but also on regulatory approval. A launch license has not yet been issued, and there are some open items. Late November seems to be the earliest that New Glenn could fly, though December or even January may be more realistic.
When New Glenn’s first flight does launch, it will not be flying with its originally intended payload. New Glenn’s first flight was initially intended to fly the NASA EscaPADE CubeSat mission to Mars. However, NASA decided not to fuel the two satellites for the mission as New Glenn was not going to make the tight launch window this fall.
Artist’s impression of the Blue Ring platform in orbit. (Credit: Blue Origin)
Blue Origin is now flying a DarkSky-1 (DS-1) spacecraft as a non-separable primary payload. The first flight’s intended orbit is a medium-Earth orbit approximately 2,400 km by 19,300 km inclined 30 degrees to the Equator. Blue Origin can test New Glenn’s orbital injection precision and conduct multiple test second stage engine relights during this flight.
The DS-1 payload is sponsored by the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit and will be the first on-orbit test of Blue Origin’s avionics, with the lessons being applied to the Blue Ring project. The Blue Ring is a platform that is designed to act as a “space tug” to fly satellites to various orbits, ranging from medium-Earth orbit to Lagrange points and beyond.
DS-1 will communicate with tracking stations in Paumalu, Hawaii, Pendergrass, Georgia, and Mingenew, Western Australia, and the mission will last no more than 12 hours before the spacecraft battery system is depleted. DS-1 will test interfaces to New Glenn’s upper stage but will not control the upper stage, nor will the upper stage control DS-1.
A BE-4 engine delivered to ULA for Vulcan. (Credit: Blue Origin)
New Glenn’s first stage is scheduled to attempt a landing on the recovery vessel Jacklyn, named after Blue Origin CEO Jeff Bezos’ mother. To aid this landing, three of the New Glenn first stage’s seven BE-4 engines can gimbal; they can be moved in various directions to redirect their thrust, controlling pitch, yaw, and roll.
These gimbaling engines are also helpful during reentry and ascent, and the rocket’s maximum design gimbal condition is during ascent when it has to fly through high-altitude winds. The stage is also equipped with thrusters and six landing legs to allow landings to occur as Blue Origin has designed these stages for reuse.
This gimbal capability was recently tested on the second Vulcan launch after a GEM-63XL solid rocket booster (SRB) nozzle failed during ascent. The two BE-4 engines on the Vulcan first stage used their gimbal capability to keep the rocket on course after the SRB nozzle broke apart.
The flattened storage building under construction at Blue Origin’s Exploration Park campus following Hurricane Milton. (Credit: Julia Bergeron for NSF)
Jacklyn is currently in Jacksonville, Florida after conducting practice tests with a New Glenn first stage simulator at Port Canaveral in August. The recovery vessel is a barge that was purpose-built for booster recoveries after a former Stena Line ship — also renamed Jacklyn — that was modified for rocket recovery was scrapped.
Blue Origin’s Exploration Park campus suffered some damage during Hurricane Milton, including the destruction of the unfinished storage building and damage to lifts and other equipment underneath the debris. Lunar Plant 1 had minor damage, and most buildings were relatively unscathed.
Thankfully there appear to have been no casualties at the site during the storm. Another big effect of Milton was causing a pause in work and testing while the storm passed, with the second stage cleaning and testing (2CAT) facility still not fully repaired from a recent testing mishap. 2CAT is where second stages are pressure tested; a second stage suffered the mishap during such a test, causing the damage.
A New Glenn second stage inside of the 2CAT building. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
Blue Origin is expanding the composite section of its main factory building, possibly related to fairing production, to enable a higher cadence of flight operations. The parking garage on-site is nearly complete, and a foundation was laid for the spin form facility. Expansion is also underway on the south side of the main campus.
Although Blue Origin has yet to orbit a spacecraft with its own launcher, it is now the closest the company has ever been to performing this feat. New Glenn and Blue Ring are critical to the company’s vision of enabling millions of people to live and work in space, while an operational New Glenn is also key to enabling projects like Blue Moon and Orbital Reef.
The 98-meter tall New Glenn, capable of flying 45,000 kg to low-Earth orbit, is also an element needed for Blue Origin’s human lander for the Artemis V mission. Blue Moon MK2 is the company’s human lunar lander and is designed to fit within New Glenn’s seven-meter fairing.
Illustration of the Blue Moon MK2 human lunar lander to be used on Artemis V. (Credit: Blue Origin)
This lander is designed to use a Cislunar Transporter, and its elements are also to be launched on New Glenn. A successful first flight would be a major step not just for Blue Origin’s ambitions but also for the Artemis program.
(Lead image: The first flight-worthy New Glenn’s first stage, So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance, is rolling out. The engine section is seen here. Credit: D Wise for NSF)
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