New Glenn Completes Second Stage Hotfire

New Glenn’s second stage (GS2) successfully completed a risk reduction hotfire test today, a milestone on our road to first flight, scheduled for launch in November, from Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, FL. NG-1 will carry Blue Ring technology as its first manifested payload.  

The hotfire lasted 15 seconds and marked the first time we operated the vehicle as an integrated system. The purpose of the hotfire test was to validate interactions between the subsystems on the second stage, its two BE-3U engines, and the ground control systems.   

Additionally, we demonstrated its three key systems, including: the tank pressurization control system, which uses helium to pressurize the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks during flight; the thrust vector control system, which gimbals the engines and steers the rocket during flight; and validated the start-up and shut-down sequences for the BE-3U systems, which can be restarted up to three times during a mission.  

In addition to testing our flight hardware, this hotfire test was also an opportunity for the launch operations team to practice launch day procedures on console and verify timing for a number of critical operations.   

New Glenn’s second stage is designed for demanding, highly energetic missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), medium Earth orbit (MEO), and geosynchronous orbit (GEO). The stage is roughly 88 feet (26.8 meters) tall with a diameter of 23 feet (7 meters). BE-3U’s elegant expander bleed design yields a robust engine architecture that balances thrust, specific impulse, and cost. Each of the two BE-3Us that will fly on NG-1 were originally designed to yield up to 160,000 lbf of vacuum thrust. The engine has outperformed throughout its test campaign and will fly at 173,000 lbf, making them some of the highest thrust-to-weight ratio hydrogen engines ever flown. 

Our New Glenn vehicle stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) tall. Its first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, the most powerful liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine ever flown. In addition to the BE-4 and BE-3U, Blue Origin manufactures BE-7 engines for our Blue Moon lunar landers and New Shepard’s BE-3PM engine.