Arthur McMiler
Blue Origin has completed a series of tests for its New Glenn rocket, whose objectives included the demonstration of day-of-launch operations and the validation of vehicle and ground systems.
Hotfire Test
The company said Friday that the test campaign, which met all objectives, concluded with an integrated launch vehicle hotfire test, whose accomplishment was described by Jarrett Jones, Blue Origin senior vice president for New Glenn, as a “monumental milestone”. During the hotfire test, the vehicle’s seven engines performed nominally, with 100 percent thrust for 13 seconds in their 24-second firings.
NG-1 Mission
New Glenn is set to launch the Blue Ring Pathfinder as part of its inaugural flight, dubbed NG-1. The Blue Ring Pathfinder is meant to test key technologies for Blue Origin’s orbital transfer vehicle, which is intended to host payloads that remain attached to their launch vehicles, as in the case of NG-1, or deliver satellites to their intended orbits.
ESCAPADE Mission
The rocket was originally set to launch NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, or ESCAPADE, mission this past October. Blue Origin had secured a contract from the space agency in February 2023 for the effort, but due to concerns about New Glenn’s readiness, the mission has since been pushed back to spring of 2025.
ESCAPADE involves the sending of a pair of smallsats to Mars.
