Blue Origin had a very good day on Friday: they completed their first-ever integrated static fire of New Glenn, after having received a five-year license for New Glenn launch and recovery operations for Cape Canaveral.m

Launch License

An FAA launch license was perhaps the last major regulatory milestone for Blue Origin in its launch campaign for the New Glenn maiden launch. Late Friday afternoon, the FAA announced that it had granted the company the necessary legal clearance to fly the vehicle:

“The FAA is committed to enabling the success of the U.S. commercial space transportation industry without compromising public safety,” said the Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation Kelvin B. Coleman. “By working closely with Blue Origin, the FAA issued this new launch license well in advance of the statutory deadline for the historic maiden flight of New Glenn.”

Under the license, Blue Origin can conduct orbital missions from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with the New Glenn first stage landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. It is valid for five years.

Blue Completes First Static Fire Of New Glenn

In recent weeks, New Glenn has mostly been vertical at Launch Complex 36 as Blue Origin ran tests, honed procedures and rehearsed the terminal countdown of the rocket before its first flight. Those tests culminated Friday when launch controllers went all the way down to T-0 and briefly ignited New Glenn’s seven BE-4 main engines all together for the first time.

Blue Origin stated in a press release that the data obtained during testing will be utilized to finalize day-of-launch timelines, confirm expected performance, and correlate models to real-world test data.

“This is a monumental milestone and a glimpse of what’s just around the corner for New Glenn’s first launch,” said Jarrett Jones, SVP, New Glenn. “Today’s success proves that our rigorous approach to testing–combined with our incredible tooling and design engineering–is working as intended.” 

The tanking test included a full run-through of the terminal count sequence, testing the hand-off authority to and from the flight computer, and collecting fluid validation data. The first stage (GS1) tanks were filled and pressed with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LOX), and the second stage (GS2) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen–both to representative NG-1 set points. 

The formal NG-1 Wet Dress Rehearsal demonstrated the final launch procedures leading into the hotfire engine run. All seven engines performed nominally, firing for 24 seconds, including at 100% thrust for 13 seconds. The test also demonstrated New Glenn’s autogenous pressurization system, which self-generates gases to pressurize GS1’s propellant tanks. 

Blue Origin, September 27, 2024

According to Blue Origin, “The campaign met all objectives and marks the final major test prior to launch.”

New Glenn is now expected to launch on January 6, 2025.