Thanks to a new document from the FAA, we now know Blue Origin is targeting the maiden flight of New Glenn late on January 5th. This comes about a week after the successful static fire which marked the first time BE-4 engines have fired on New Glenn.
Right now, practically the only step left before launch includes a trip back to Blue Origin’s facility for payload integration. Once that’s done, it will make its way back to the launch pad and attempt to lift off and even land its booster on the first try.
Launch Date
Recently the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) released the Current Operations Plan Advisory going over some of the upcoming launches. In the section titled Planned Launch/Reentry, they highlight a few SpaceX missions in early January and then Blue Origin. Specifically, it reads “BLUE ORIGIN – NG 1 BLUE RING PATHFINDER, CAPE CANAVERAL SFS, FL”. As for the date, it shows January 6, 2025, 0430-0745 Zulu time. When that time frame is converted to EST, the launch window should actually be open late at night on January 5th.
While Blue Origin themselves haven’t said anything about a specific launch date, this advisory notice is a strong predictor and indicates what Blue Origin has conveyed to the government and various agencies. With that in mind, we should expect an update from the company in the next few days highlighting the specific launch date and time for the first attempt.
All of this comes after the static fire initially of the upper stage and more recently the first stage. A few days ago on the 27th, this test took place.
The seven-engine hotfire lasted 24 seconds and marked the first time Blue Origin operated the entire flight vehicle as an integrated system. In a statement, the company said, “The multi-day test campaign leading up to the hotfire included numerous inert functional and tanking tests. The integrated launch vehicle included the first and second stages of the NG-1 flight vehicle, and a payload test article comprised of manufacturing test demonstrator fairings, a high-capacity fixed adapter flight unit, and a 45,000 lb payload mass simulator.”
One of the primary goals of the test campaign was to demonstrate day-of-launch operations in our NG-1 test configuration. Additionally, the team conducted several tests to validate vehicle and ground systems in the fully integrated, on-pad configuration. This data will be utilized to finalize day-of-launch timelines, confirm expected performance, and correlate our models to real-world test data.”
As for the test itself, it included a full run-through of the terminal count sequence, testing the hand-off authority to and from the flight computer, and collecting fluid validation data. The first stage (GS1) tanks were filled and pressed with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LOX), and the second stage (GS2) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen–both to representative NG-1 set points.
The formal NG-1 Wet Dress Rehearsal demonstrated the final launch procedures leading into the hotfire engine run. They confirmed that all seven engines performed nominally, firing for 24 seconds, including at 100% thrust for 13 seconds. The test also demonstrated New Glenn’s autogenous pressurization system, which self-generates gases to pressurize GS1’s propellant tanks.
They finished by saying, “This test campaign captured a number of firsts for the New Glenn launch system, including the first seven-engine operations, the first integrated GS1-GS2 tanking demonstration, the first LNG/LOX fill for GS1, as well as first chilled helium operations for GS2.
As far as what to expect in the next few days, after the static fire Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp commented, “Well, all we have left to do is mate our encapsulated payload…and then LAUNCH! Congrats to the many Blue folks on today’s test. Big day for our seven BE4 engines, simultaneously firing for the first time for 24 seconds” he said.
Soon after the static fire the FAA also confirmed that Blue Origin had received a launch license. On the 27th they tweeted saying, “The FAA issued a Part 450 commercial space license authorizing the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn vehicle. The FAA determined Blue Origin met all safety, environmental & other licensing requirements well ahead of the statutory deadline.”
While the company was hoping to get New Glenn off the ground in 2024, a launch just days into 2025 would still be a major step for the program and company.
The First New Glenn Launch
When looking at the flight profile as a whole, this maiden flight is very ambitious. Besides your typical mission milestones like liftoff and stage separation, we are also expecting payload deployment in addition to landing the booster on a ship out at sea.
New Glenn as a whole, stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) high and features a seven-meter payload fairing, enabling twice the volume of standard five-meter class commercial launch systems. Its reusable first stage aims for a minimum of 25 missions and will land on Jacklyn, a sea-based platform located several hundred miles downrange. Blue Origin highlights that reusability is integral to radically reducing cost-per-launch.
In the past few months, we’ve heard and seen a lot more regarding this landing platform and general operation. Earlier this month Dave Limp was quoted saying, “Our sea-based landing platform for New Glenn is one of the largest remotely operated vessels in the world. One cool system on Jacklyn is our Recovery Remotely Operated Vehicle, or ROV, that connects to New Glenn’s reusable booster stage immediately after landing. This connection provides power, communication, and pneumatic links between the booster and the platform. The ROV has a footprint similar to an F-150 truck but is considerably taller, standing around 14 ft. tall when the manipulator arm is raised. During landing, it’s operated from a support vessel five to 10 nautical miles away from Jacklyn. What’s great about this setup is that it greatly speeds up mission turnaround times and keeps the crew safer” he said.
Blue Origin does have experience landing New Shepards booster but there are obviously some big differences like size and landing location. Either way, Blue Origin is confident and even named the booster “So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance” in reference to the first landing attempt. Realistically, a lot of things need to go perfectly in order for the booster to touch down softly and survive the landing. In the event that it doesn’t land successfully, the hope would be for it to impact the water and avoid any damage to the landing ship infrastructure.
Looking back at SpaceX’s initial Falcon 9 booster drone ship landing attempts, there were quite a few explosive impacts before they were able to nail the landing. That being said, there are a lot of differences between the two meaning we will just have to wait and see what happens.
At the start of the launch we’ll also get to see the launch pad in action. In regard to this Dave Limp commented, “The launch pad is the harshest environment for a vehicle, experiencing intense shaking from full engine thrust across the entire spectrum. To mitigate this, our water tower, one of the tallest in the world at 353 feet (108 Meters), plays a crucial role—storing water that is piped into the flame deflector, the launch table, and across the launch pad deck, providing thermal protection, and dampening as much acoustic energy as possible during liftoff. Our water deluge system expels around 400,000 gal/min during launch, with a good portion quickly turning into steam” he said.
The vehicle is powered by seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, one of the most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine ever flown. They point out that LNG is cleaner-burning and higher-performing than kerosene-based fuels, and the seven BE-4s generate over 3.8 million lbf of thrust. The vehicle’s second stage is powered by two BE-3Us, liquid oxygen (LOX)/liquid hydrogen (LH2) engines designed to together yield over 320,000 lbf of vacuum thrust.
NG-1 will carry the company’s Blue Ring Pathfinder and mark the rocket’s first National Security Space Launch certification flight. The pathfinder was developed by Blue Origin’s In-Space Systems business unit. It will test Blue Ring’s core flight, ground systems, and operational capabilities. NG-1 will carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload as part of the Defense Innovation Unit’s (DIU) Orbital Logistics Prototype effort. The DIU funding is helping to enable future Department of Defense missions.
The demonstrator includes a communications array, power systems, and a flight computer affixed to a secondary payload adapter ring. The pathfinder will validate Blue Ring’s communications capabilities from orbit to ground. The mission will also test its in-space telemetry, tracking and command hardware, and ground-based radiometric tracking that will be used on the future Blue Ring production space vehicle. The pathfinder will remain onboard New Glenn’s second stage for the duration of an expected six-hour mission.
Blue Origin points out that the spacecraft’s ability to maneuver to multiple orbits and locations, deploy and host payloads, and perform onboard computing and communications will enable groundbreaking missions for a variety of customers. Blue Ring can host payloads of more than 3,000 kg for commercial and government customers to deploy a variety of missions. Another possible milestone to add to this maiden flight.
Conclusion
Blue Origin could be less than a week away from the maiden flight of New Glenn. A new document from the FAA supports a launch as soon as January 5th. Between now and then, the company just needs to integrate the payload and move the rocket back to the launch pad.