After a long day of stops and starts that stretched well into the evening, and on what appeared to be the company's fifth attempt Friday, Blue Origin successfully ignited the seven main engines of its massive New Glenn rocket.
The test firing as fog formed over the Florida coast marks the latest major step in the rocket company's campaign to ready the New Glenn rocket — a privately developed, superheavy lift vehicle — for launch. Blue Origin said it fired the vehicle's engines for 24 seconds. They fired at full power for 13 of those seconds.
“This is a monumental milestone and a preview of what is to come for the initial launch of New Glenn,” said Jarrett Jones, senior vice president of the New Glenn program, in a press release. “Today's success proves that our rigorous testing approach – combined with our incredible tooling and design engineering – is working as intended.”
The completion of the dynamic hot-fire test marks a historic moment for the company founded by Jeff Bezos nearly a quarter century ago: the first-ever orbital launch attempt. It will take place from Launch Complex-36, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Blue Origin's post-test update did not include a launch date, but based on flight advisory information, the launch date is likely no earlier than January 6.
A license to fly
Friday was important in a different way for New Glenn's debut mission. Hours before the test firing, the Federal Aviation Administration said it had issued a launch permit for the missile. The license allows Blue Origin to conduct orbital missions from Cape Canaveral with New Glenn, as well as attempt a first-stage barge landing in the Atlantic Ocean. The license is valid for five years.
After years of waiting, the long-awaited mission finally comes to fruition. The test, which takes place just two days after the Christmas holidays in the United States, reflects the urgency that Bezos has injected into his rocket company over the past 18 months. In the fall of 2023, Bezos ousted Bob Smith as CEO of Blue Origin and brought in a longtime Amazon executive, Dave Limp, to run the company.
