Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket goes vertical for hotfire test

Blue Origin has shared that the New Glenn rocket is now standing vertical on the launch site to conduct an integrated hotfire test to prepare for the first launch.

Last week, Blue Origin integrated New Glenn’s first and second stages at its facility in Cape Canaveral. Yesterday, the rocket maker moved New Glenn to the launch pad using the transporter Erector vehicle.

This is a massive transporter designed to take the integrated flight to the launch site. It is about 300 feet long and 50 feet wide. It weighs more than 4 million pounds due to its complicated suite of hardware.

It can be set into its pivot point with large clamps to step foot on the ground before erecting the rocket vertically with massive hydraulic actuators.

#NewGlenn made its journey from the integration facility to the launch pad. Up next: upending our integrated launch vehicle. pic.twitter.com/nFKtHuGMdk

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 21, 2024

The actuators are 4 feet in diameter and expand up to 42 feet into the foundation to produce 15 million pounds of lifting force. Pictures shared by the company reveal the arrival and the vertical stand of the New Glenn rocket before hotfire.

In the past few months, Blue Origin has completed several tests on different parts of this rocket including a hotfire tests for both stages.

Blue Origin New Glenn (Source – Blue Origin)

This rocket is 320 feet tall and its first stage is equipped with seven BE-4 engines using liquefied natural gas. The first stage supports reusability and after hot-staging, it will return to Earth and land on a droneship, just like a Falcon 9 rocket.

The second stage will take the mission to low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous orbit (GEO). It is 88 feet tall and expands 23 feet. The 2nd stage also has BE-3U with up to 160,000 lbf of vacuum thrust.

The New Glenn will conduct its first mission to space by this year. However, a specific launch date is yet to be announced.