By now the first flight-capable New Glenn rocket is vertical on the launch pad and only a few tests away from a maiden flight. Next up on the pre-launch checklist is a static fire expected to happen in the coming days.
Once complete, assuming it goes as planned and the data is promising, New Glenn will just about be ready for flight.
New Glenn Is Vertical
Starting earlier this month on the 12th Blue Origin shared images of the first and second stages coming together inside its facility. Specifically, this was the mating of GS-1 and GS-2, combining to nearly a complete rocket, with the exception of the payload fairing.
This led to the 20th when the company tweeted saying, “Here we go—and our fully integrated launch vehicle is rolling out for its upcoming hot fire” From here the vehicle made its journey to the launch pad and prepared to go vertical.
While this was happening, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp was quoted saying, “Another step towards launch (and a few more photos). The transport and lift operation relies on our Transporter Erector or TE, a structure that’s almost 300 feet (91 meters) long and 50 feet (15 meters) wide and weighs more than 4 million pounds. Once at the pad, the TE is set into its pivot point – large clamps secure it in place before hydraulic actuators lift the vehicle upright. These four massive actuators are four feet (1.2 meters) in diameter, extend 42 feet (12.8 meters) into the foundation, and deliver 15 million pounds of lifting force.”
As recently as yesterday Blue Origin tweeted again and this time shared images of the rocket now vertical on the pad. Again Dave Limp commented and pointed out, “Up we go! The steel launch table that New Glenn sits on weighs 1.7 million pounds (roughly 726 metric tons), including the clamps that connect to the vehicle’s aft ring” he said.
Taking a closer look at the image, one of the things that stands out is the brown almost wood-like finish on the interstage and aft module. This is actually a thermal protection system and Blue Origin decided they won’t paint it like originally planned.
In this case, Dave Limp said, “Some of you recently asked additional questions about Comet, the thermal protection system we created for New Glenn, and whether we’ll paint it on our vehicle.”
“We could—but have chosen not to for a variety of reasons, including adding unnecessary weight. It has been applied on our fins, forward module, strakes, tank tunnel, and the aft section, including the legs. Given the the thermal environment, we expect the material will change colors on our booster as we fly multiple missions” he said.
Originally on practically all New Glenn renderings most of these thermal protected areas were painted white with the exception of the aft module which was painted a dark grey. It seems that to save time, convenience, and weight, they decided just to leave the sections as is. In a way, this is similar to the Space Shuttle which for some of the initial missions had its external tank painted white before the agency decided it just wasn’t worth it.
With New Glenn now vertical, the static fire is expected to happen very soon. Interestingly, this will be the first time ever BE-4 engines have fired on a New Glenn vehicle. 7 of these engines were installed around October and were thoroughly tested before being integrated.
Fortunately for Blue Origin, besides the fact that a lot of testing and hot fires on test stands have already taken place, other BE-4 engines have already flown on ULA’s Vulcan. They’ve proven to be capable and powerful engines. That being said, Blue Origin has some ambitious goals for the first flight which will test each aspect of the BE-4.
In terms of a specific date for the static fire, none has been provided by the company. It could be as soon as this weekend or sometime next week. We’ll just have to keep an eye on it as Blue Origin gets closer.
New Glenn Launch Date?
As of right now, regarding a launch date, the only information we have is that they are still targeting a maiden flight before the end of the year. A few months ago in September, the company was aiming for November. As we approach late November, this gives them just over a month left of time to complete the static fire, any other additional pre-launch checks, and finally liftoff. While doable, you have to consider that this is the first-ever flight. For this reason, we can expect certain mission milestones to take a bit longer as they work out different processes.
Not only that but it will include an actual payload, Blue Ring. Blue Ring is a spacecraft platform focused on providing in-space logistics and delivery. In a statement, they said, “Blue Ring can host payloads of more than 3,000 kg and provides unprecedented delta-V capabilities and mission flexibility.”
If all that wasn’t enough, they will also be attempting to land the booster out at sea. They even named it “So You’re Telling Me There’s A Chance”. Dave Limp said, “We have a cool history naming key Blue hardware that dates back to New Shepard. We’re calling New Glenn’s first booster “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance.” Why? No one has landed a reusable booster on the first try. Yet, we’re going for it, and humbly submit having good confidence in landing it. But like I said a couple of weeks ago, if we don’t, we’ll learn and keep trying until we do” he said. By now the landing platform is ready and will be stationed in the ocean downrange for a booster landing.
As for the upper stage, it’s already been static-fired. “The hotfire lasted 15 seconds and marked the first time they operated the vehicle as an integrated system. The purpose of the hotfire test was to validate interactions between the subsystems on the second stage, its two BE-3U engines, and the ground control systems.
Right before the upper stage was being mated with the first stage, Dave Limp shared an image of the engines and said, “So great to see! Another photo here of New Glenn’s two BE-3U engines right before integration. In the vacuum of space, the BE-3U’s nozzles release hydrogen-rich steam at speeds of roughly 10,000 mph. These vacuum nozzles are a big, 114.5 inches (2.9 meters) long.”
New Glenn’s second stage is designed for demanding, highly energetic missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous orbit (GEO). The stage is roughly 88 feet (26.8 meters) tall with a diameter of 23 feet (7 meters). BE-3U’s expander bleed design is meant to yield a robust engine architecture that balances thrust, specific impulse, and cost. Each of the two BE-3Us that will fly on NG-1 were originally designed to yield up to 160,000 lbf of vacuum thrust. However, they noted that the engine has outperformed throughout its test campaign and will fly at 173,000 lbf, making them some of the highest thrust-to-weight ratio hydrogen engines ever flown.
In just about a month we could see these engines in action for the first time. The faster New Glenn gets up and running, the better. By now it’s already secured a number of different contracts. Back in 2022 for example, Blue Origin announced New Glenn had been selected for 12 launches, with options for up to 15 additional launches to deploy Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite constellation. Project Kuiper’s constellation of 3,236 satellites aims to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband service globally. The launches are manifested for a five-year period from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, which Blue Origin has rebuilt from the ground up.
At the time the Senior Vice President at Blue Origin said, “We’re honored to support Amazon’s ambitious mission to provide reliable, affordable broadband to unserved and underserved communities around the world through New Glenn and our BE-4 engines. New Glenn’s massive seven-meter fairing offers unprecedented mass and volume capabilities, and provides Project Kuiper maximum launch flexibility” he said.
There is also the ESCAPADE mission, which is set to happen later in 2025. Specifically on September 6th, NASA tweeted saying, “NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission is now targeting a launch in 2025. ESCAPADE’s two satellites will investigate how solar wind interacts with the magnetic environment of Mars.
This mission was originally set to happen around last month and be New Glenn’s maiden flight. In response, Blue Origin tweeted saying, “We’re supportive of NASA’s decision to target the ESCAPADE mission for no earlier than spring 2025 and look forward to the flight. We plan to move up New Glenn’s second flight, originally scheduled for December, into November. New Glenn will carry Blue Ring technology and mark our first National Security Space Launch certification flight.”
Everything considered, it’s important for the rocket’s schedule that it has a successful maiden flight. Even though this will be the first booster landing attempt, the company is confident and believes its experience with New Shepard among other factors helps them. Something we could see for ourselves as soon as next month.
Conclusion
New Glenn is vertical on the launch pad and just days away from its first booster static fire. If the results are promising, a launch could happen as early as December. When it does lift off, not only will they attempt to deploy the Blue Ring payload but also land the booster out at sea.