Over the past few months, Blue Origin has been busy making progress on many of its projects as target dates approach. New Glenn continues to inch closer to launch, facilities are being expanded, BE-4 engines have been delivered to ULA, and New Shepard is back on crewed flights.
New Glenn
As the September launch window for NASA’s EscaPADE mission to Mars closes, teams are working toward the end of tests at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) to prepare the site for its 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-foot-wide, 45-foot-long stage made the trip to the company’s campus at Exploration Park, just outside the gates of the Kennedy Space Center.
New Glenn’s first stage booster is transported back to the factory after cryogenic testing. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
While still inside the first phase integration facility, it is likely that the stage will be closely inspected after its round of testing. From there, the stage will be integrated with an engine section and BE-4 engines that can support a static fire along with a ready-to-fly interstage and possible air surfaces. It is still unclear whether this booster will fly with the same equipment that it fires static fire with, or if there will be further improvements before the vehicle is ready for flight.
In late March, Blue Origin rolled the second stage’s transport hoist onto the launch pad for more testing and checks. A New Glenn second stage has not yet been carried to the pad at this facility, although Blue may still have that test scheduled before New Glenn’s first flight. The lift of the second stage carrier features two cutouts in its base, which suggests the possibility of testing the twin BE-3U engines on the launch pad.
Most recently, on May 23, the New Glenn Simulator rolled onto the pad on the carrier’s main lift 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 deliver cargo to the rocket, and a quick pull test of the umbilicals. Such tests are an important part of the launch countdown for both a new rocket and new launch pad infrastructure.
NEWS: Blue Origin’s New Glenn lander is named Landing Platform Vessel 1.
The ship was captured passing through Istanbul as it moved from its construction site in Romania. The barge is currently being fitted out in France.
Full photo credit and thanks to Daniil:… pic.twitter.com/xJWhf5JdCZ
— Gav Cornwell (@SpaceOffshore) May 30, 2024
A long-awaited upgrade to New Glenn’s offshore landing platform recently arrived as Landing Platform Ship 1 moved from Romania to France. The modified barge is still under construction as large amounts of scaffolding remain on board. According to the documentation, the ship measures 116 x 46 m. It’s currently unclear when it will be transported to Port Canaveral — but when it is, it will bring the New Glenn one step closer to launch.
All these developments bring New Glenn and its infrastructure closer to the first launch, still planned for the end of this year.
Exploration Park
At Blue’s Space Coast rocket manufacturing campus, work continues to support not only New Glenn production and operations, but also the company’s other programs, such as Blue Moon.
Groundwork for the lunar assembly facility is well underway on Blue Origin’s campus. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
Recent documents from Space Florida reveal that Blue is currently working on building a lunar assembly facility (also referred to as the Project Lunar Manufacturing Facility). This replaces the planned Composite Assembly building which was revealed through public planning documents in 2022. Work on this approximately 18,000 square meter building is currently underway, although the expected completion date is unknown.
Blue Origin still intends to launch the first lunar cargo lander Blue Moon MK1 to New Glenn in early 2025 as a pilot mission to test system technologies. After landing the MK1 payloads, Blue is contracted by NASA to land the payload and crew on the Moon as part of the Artemis program with its MK2 lander. With that in mind, it makes sense that Blue would want to ensure it has plenty of space to manufacture its landers right on the Space Coast.
To support all of this, Blue is also in the process of building a new parking garage to support the growing number of employees and contractors on site, as well as older plans that show the company intends to build more buildings on a large existing parking lot. area on the south side of campus.
A second phase of New Glenn inside the 2CAT building. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)
During a flyover last month, a New Glenn second-stage tank was caught standing upright inside the 2CAT building on Blue’s property. Here it is believed that the stages go through pressure testing before moving on to the next steps in production. Nearby, what appeared to be a rolled-up piece of New Glenn’s first stage lay outside on cradles.
EU-4 testing and deliveries
In recent months, locals in the Huntsville area — home to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight 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 would refurbish the historic test 4670 for use with its BE-3U and BE-4 engines. The increased testing bodes well not only for New Glenn, which requires seven BE-4s in the first stage and two BE-3Us in the second stage, but also for ULA’s Vulcan rocket, which uses two BE-4 engines. for rocket.
I spy a pair of BE4 motors ready to go into their booster for the USSF106, #VulcanRocket the first National Security mission. #Factory full of people pic.twitter.com/aU3fRciEEO
— Tory Bruno (@torybruno) May 29, 2024
In addition to these reports, ULA CEO Tory Bruno recently shared an image showing two BE-4 engines and a Vulcan first stage that will fly on the rocket’s third mission. Bruno recently commented that the delivery rate of BE-4 engines for the Vulcan was two per month and increasing to one and a half per week.
The young Shepard
After an in-flight anomaly caused by New Shepard’s BE-3 engine stalling in September 2022 and a successful return to flight on an uncrewed mission in December 2023, New Shepard took to the skies again with passengers on board on 19 May . The group of six rode New Shepard up to 107 km and back for a total mission time of just under 10 minutes.
New Shepard takes off during mission NS-25. (Credit: Blue Origin)
While the flight was carried out safely, it was noted that only two of the three main parachutes deployed in the capsule. While the ship is designed to land safely in only two main channels, Blue will no doubt consider this before the next mission.
(Main image: The new Glenn Simulator being deployed on LC-36 for additional ground systems testing. Credit: Blue Origin)