New Glenn Flight Hardware Is About To Be Tested!
New Glenn Flight Hardware Is About To Be Tested!
For the first time, it's starting to feel like Jeff Bezos's space company, Blue Origin, might have a shot at launching its long-delayed New Glenn rocket, within the next 12 months. Of course, there's a lot for Blue Origin to test and validate before New Glenn is ready to fly. First, the company's engineers need to fully assemble a New Glenn rocket and raise it on, the company's sprawling seaside launch pad, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. There's a good chance of this happening in the coming months, as Blue Origin readies for a series of tanking tests and simulated countdowns, at the launch site.
It's tempting to invoke Berger's Law, which states that, if a launch is scheduled for the fourth quarter of a calendar year—and if it is at least six months away—the launch will delay into the next year. Given Blue Origin's history of New Glenn delays, that's probably the safer bet. New Glenn's inaugural flight has been delayed from 2020 until 2021, then 2022, and for now, is slated for 2024. But it's worth noting that, Blue Origin has been consistent in its 2024 launch schedule for New Glenn for a while now, and on Wednesday, a tweet from Blue Origin official doubled down on this goal for the debut of New Glenn.
There are also several signs beyond post from Blue Origin, that the company is making real progress with its new rocket. The two-stage New Glenn will stand more than 320 feet, 98 meters tall. With the capability to haul nearly 100,000 pounds, 45 metric tons, of payload into low-Earth orbit, according to Blue Origin. This is a weight class above the uppermost capability of United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, or SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, but below SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.
A NASA official last month said, the agency anticipates putting one of its robotic Mars Mission, on the first flight of Blue Origin's new rocket next year. The Mars science mission, named ESCAPADE, consists of two small identical spacecraft to study the Martian magnetosphere. It is relatively low in cost, and NASA is willing to accept some risk in launching it on the first New Glenn flight, but if it doesn't depart Earth next year, the mission faces a two-year delay. Lars Hoffman, Blue Origin's vice president of government sales, gave a high-level overview of the privately-developed New Glenn rockets.
“We’re now ready to really start amping things up a bit," Hoffman said. "We’ll start launching New Glenn this year." Blue Origin intends to use most of the parts visible inside, which included tanks and other metallic structures, on real flightworthy New Glenn rockets, he said. Some of the equipment will be used for qualification testing on ground. The manufacturing pace is just picking up by the day," Hoffman told the gathering of Space Force officials. "This is all flight hardware that we’re going to fly on our first launches this year. There’s some qual hardware in there as well, but things are picking up very fast.
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blue Origin new rocket new glenn heading to the launch pad
New Glenn Flight Hardware Is About To Be Tested
New Glenn Launch