New Glenn, which is 98 meters tall, underwent testing in Florida after several construction delays; release was given on Friday (Dec 27, 2024)
The new rocket from Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, received permission from the FAA (United States Federal Aviation Administration) to take off. The orbital vehicle called New Glenn had a series of construction delays, but finally received the license on Friday (Dec 27, 2024).
As soon as its license was approved by the FAA, New Glenn has already undergone testing, as announced by Blue Origin. The tests took place at the Cape Canaveral Space Station, in Florida, where the rocket’s 7 engines burned for 24 seconds.
Bezos posted a video of the test on X (formerly Twitter), celebrating the achievement with a short message: “Next stop, launch”, he said, indicating that the launch of New Glenn, which was scheduled for 2024, could be close.
Next stop launch pic.twitter.com/GQFz4XxEt5
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) December 28, 2024
Blue Origin vice president Jarrett Jones celebrated what he called a successful blend of rigorous testing and engineering design.
“This is a monumental milestone and a preview of what’s to come for the launch of New Glenn. Today’s success proves that our rigorous approach to testing, combined with our engineering design, is working as intended”, these.
The test allowed the team to evaluate New Glenn’s performance and reproduce the necessary operations during launch day. Blue Origin highlighted that all objectives were met in what was the last major test before launch.
The New Glenn is 98 meters high and has a hood twice the size conventional for rockets of this type.
The rocket will be used in the NG-1 mission, which will carry the “Blue Ring Pathfinder”, a payload that will be used to carry out tests on the “Blue Ring”, Blue Origin’s orbital vehicle. The payload is equipped with communication elements, energy systems and flight computers installed in an adapter that can position satellites in other orbits.
Blue Origin Senior Vice President of Space Systems Paul Ebetz celebrated the release of New Glenn and advancements in Blue Origin’s space mission.
“We are excited to demonstrate advanced Blue Ring space operations on the inaugural New Glenn mission. The Blue Ring plays a critical role in building a highway to space, and this mission is an important first step for Blue Ring and enables dynamic and responsive operations that will greatly benefit our nation”, these.
