Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket roars back to life with successful test fire

New Glenn had its share of failures, among them scrub of the first planned mission, ESCAPADE, with NASA
New Glenn rocket second stage hot fire — Blue Origin
New Glenn rocket second stage hot fire — Blue Origin

Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin company took a big step closer to having its newest New Glenn rocket ready for launch on Nov. 5. It released the second stage of New Glenn's rocket for 15 seconds in a fire test at 5:59pm Central time (CT).

The test demonstrated that all the subsystems of New Glenn - including its engines and ground control went well with each other.

What's New Glenn?

New Glenn is the heavy-lift rocket being developed by Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX in satellite and other payload launches into orbit.

Unlike the smaller New Shepard, which has established a stellar customer base to carry tourists into suborbital space, New Glenn will reach geostationary orbit.

New Glenn made another huge step forward with the recent test fire. The two BE-3U engines and their corresponding subsystems of the rocket performed superbly, during the burn time of 15 seconds. The team responsible for launch site operations rehearsed the launch procedures to prepare the rocket for its first flight.

Read more: SpaceX's Crew-9 mission postponed due to Hurricane Helene

New Glenn had its share of failures, among them the scrub of the first planned mission, ESCAPADE, with NASA. Blue Origin will push through its NG-1 mission, launching its Blue Ring orbital platform into space this November off Cape Canaveral, Florida.

NG-1 will prove New Glenn's capability and reliability. The Blue Ring will be a platform for testing several technologies and payloads, pushing Blue Origin further into being an orbital space player.

Blue Origin vs SpaceX

As Blue Origin moves forward with New Glenn, it faces stiff competition from SpaceX. Elon Musk's company has established itself as a leader in commercial space launches. Blue Origin shall need to prove New Glenn's reliability and cost-effectiveness to attract customers.

Blue Origin plans to launch NG-1 in November, with subsequent missions scheduled for 2024. The company shall continue testing and refining New Glenn, aiming to establish itself as a major player in the commercial space industry.