Over the past few months, Blue Origin has been busy making progress on many of its projects as the target dates approach. New Glenn is still getting closer to launch, facilities are being expanded, BE-4 engines have been delivered to ULA, and New Shepard has returned to manned flights.
The new Glenn
With the September launch of NASA’s EscaPADE Mars mission approaching, teams are working toward the end of tests at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) to prepare the site for the first static fire and launch.
On March 12, Blue returned the first stage of the New Glenn Pathfinder after completing cryogenic and ground system testing on the launch pad. The 7-meter-wide and 45-meter-long stage returned to the company’s grounds at Exploration Park, just outside the gates of the Kennedy Space Center.
The New Glenn first stage explorer is transported back to the factory after cryogenic testing. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
While you are back in the first stage integration facility, it is likely that the stage is carefully controlled after a round of testing. From there, the stage will be integrated with an engine section and BE-4 engines that could support static fire alongside a flight-ready interstage and possible airfields. It’s still unclear if this booster will fly with the same hardware it does static fire with, or if there will be further upgrades before the vehicle is ready for flight.
In late March, Blue Origin moved the transporter’s second stage riser to the launch pad for further testing and inspections. The New Glenn second stage has not yet been transported to the pad on this structure, although Blue may still have that test scheduled before New Glenn’s first flight. The second stage transporter riser has two cutouts in its base that indicate the possibility of testing the two BE-3U engines on the launch pad.
Recently, on May 23, the New Glenn Simulator rolled onto a pad on the main transporter riser to support further pad testing. According to Blue Origin, the tests will include turning on pumps to pressurize the vehicle’s hydraulic system, using ground systems to supply the rocket with commodities, and a test of rapid retraction of the umbilicals. These tests are an important part of the launch countdown for both the new rocket and the new launch pad infrastructure.
NEWS: Blue Origin’s New Glenn lander is named Landing Platform Vessel 1.
The vessel was captured sailing through Istanbul as it was moved from its construction yard in Romania. The boat is currently being fitted out in France.
Full photo credit and thanks to Daniil:… pic.twitter.com/xJWhf5JdCZ
— Gav Cornwell (@SpaceOffshore) May 30, 2024
The long-awaited upgrade to the New Glenn Naval Landing Platform recently arrived as Landing Platform Vessel 1 was relocated from Romania to France. The modified boat is still under construction as a large amount of scaffolding remains on board. According to the documentation, the vessel measures 116 x 46 m. ​​It is currently unclear when it will be transported to Port Canaveral – but when it does, it will bring New Glenn one step closer to launch.
All of this news brings New Glenn and its infrastructure closer to its first launch, which is still scheduled for later this year.
Exploration Park
At Blue’s Space Coast rocket manufacturing campus, work continues to support not only the production and operation of New Glenn, but also the company’s other programs, such as Blue Moon.
Groundwork for the Lunar Assembly Facility is well underway at the Blue Origin campus. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
Recent documents from Space Florida show that Blue is currently working on the construction of the Lunar Assembly Facility (also referred to as the Project Lunar Production Facility). This replaces the planned Composite Assembly Building, which was revealed through public planning documents in 2022. Earthworks are currently underway for this roughly 18,000 square meter facility, although the expected completion date is unknown.
Blue Origin still aims to launch the first Blue Moon MK1 cargo lunar lander at New Glenn in early 2025 as a mission to test the system’s technologies. After the MK1 cargo lander, Blue has a contract with NASA to land cargo and crew on the Moon as part of the Artemis program with its MK2 lander. With that in mind, it makes sense that Blue wants to secure enough space to manufacture its landers right on the Space Coast.
To support all of this, Blue is also building a new parking garage to support the growing number of employees and contractors on site, as well as older plans showing the company intends to build more buildings above the existing large parking lot. space on the south side of campus.
The second level of New Glenn inside the 2CAT building. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
During a flyover last month, a New Glenn second stage tank was captured standing upright inside the 2CAT building on the Blue property. This is where the stages are believed to be pressure tested before proceeding to the next steps in production. Nearby, what appeared to be a wrapped section of the New Glenn first stage was cradled outside.
BE-4 testing and delivery
Over the past few months, local residents in the Huntsville area — home to NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center — have reported an increase in rocket engine tests coming from the area. NASA and Blue Origin signed a Commercial Space Launch Act agreement in 2019 where the company will refurbish the historic 4670 test stand for use with its BE-3U and BE-4 engines. The increase in testing bodes well not only for the New Glenn, which requires seven BE-4s for the first stage and two BE-3Us for the second stage, but also for the Vulcan ULA rocket, which uses two BE-4 engines per rocket.
I’ve been watching a couple of BE4 engines getting ready to deploy their booster for the USSF106, #VulcanRocket the first National Security mission. #CrowdedFactory pic.twitter.com/aU3fRciEEO
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) May 29, 2024
In addition to the news, ULA CEO Tory Bruno recently shared an image showing the two BE-4 engines and the Vulcan first stage, both of which will fly on the rocket’s third mission. Bruno recently noted that the delivery rate of BE-4 engines for the Vulcan was two per month and increased to one and a half per week.
The new Shepard
After a flight anomaly caused by New Shepard’s BE-3 engine jet in September 2022 and a successful return to flight with an unmanned mission in December 2023, New Shepard lifted off again on May 19 with passengers on board. A group of six drove New Shepard up to 107 km and back with a total mission time of just under 10 minutes.
New Shepard lifts off during the NS-25 mission. (Credit: Blue Origin)
While the flight was completed safely, it was observed that only two of the three main parachutes were deployed on the capsule. Although the craft is only designed to land safely on two main chutes, there’s no doubt that Blue will address this before the next mission.
(Main image: The new Glenn Simulator being loaded into the LC-36 for further testing of ground systems. Credit: Blue Origin)