Blue Origin test fires second stage and continues preparations for New Glenns second flight

Date:
Fri, 25 Apr 2025 20:09:35 +0000

Description:
Blue Origin recently test-fired the second stage for New Glenns second
flight, while other preparations The post Blue Origin test fires second stage and continues preparations for New Glenns second flight appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

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Blue Origin recently test-fired the second stage for New Glenns second
flight, while other preparations for this and other future flights are underway at the companys facilities in Florida. The second stages test firing is one of a number of steps that must be completed before the rockets second flight, currently thought to be around the middle of this year.



The second stage, also known as Glenn Stage 2 (GS2), was erected at Launch Complex-36 (LC-36) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Monday, April 21. After checkouts, it was supposed to fire its engines as early as Wednesday, April 23. However, the test did not take place that day. After additional preparations, the stage finally ignited its engines on Thursday, April 24, at 1:10 PM EDT (17:10 UTC). A New Glenn second stage inside the integration facility at Launch Complex 36. (Credit: David Limp/Blue Origin)

GS2 is equipped with two BE-3U engines, which use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, and are optimized for use in the vacuum of space. LC-36 needs to be capable of handling three propellants liquid oxygen, liquid hydrogen, and liquid methane, as New Glenns first stage features seven BE-4 engines that
use methane as their fuel.

This GS2 has enhanced BE-3U engines offering a maximum thrust of 778.4 kN (175,000 lbf), compared to 769.5 kN (173,000 lbf) for the first flight of New Glenn. Blue Origin CEO David Limp announced in a social media post on X that the GS2s engines fired for a full duration of 15 seconds. This test firing, assuming it is completely successful, clears the way for other activities required to prepare New Glenn Flight 2 for launch. Januarys GS2 performed remarkably during our inaugural New Glenn launch, delivering our payload to orbit with less than 1% deviation from the target. Today, we completed a full duration 15-second hotfire test of the upper stage for our NG-2 mission. This time, we achieved pic.twitter.com/SWZzAf5oYL

Dave Limp (@davill) April 24, 2025



Flight 2s booster stage, Glenn Stage 1 (GS1), is still in the companys Exploration Park campus, undergoing its own preparations before being rolled out to the integration hangar at LC-36. GS1 and GS2 will be mated there and erected at the launch pad for additional testing before their flight. It is not currently known with full certainty which payload will be flying on this launch, though NASAs ESCAPADE mission to Mars is a likely possibility.

The ESCAPADE payload consists of two small satellites that will orbit Mars
and study the Martian magnetosphere. The low mass of the satellites together totaling 180 kg allows the mission to be launched outside a normally preferred transfer window to Mars. Other payloads that are also expected to fly on New Glenn this year are BlueBird and Kuiper satellite constellation missions, as well as flights to test systems for Blue Origins Artemis human moon lander, the Blue Moon MK2.



While preparations for Flight 2 are underway, other activity is also in work at Blue Origins facilities in Florida to prepare for subsequent New Glenn flights. A GS2 stage for an upcoming flight was recently spotted at the companys Second Stage Cleaning and Testing Facility, also known as 2CAT.

New facilities at Exploration Park are in more advanced stages of completion, such as the Chemical Processing Facility and the Lunar Plant 1 factory building. The Chemical Processing Facility now has its roof and walls added and is structurally complete; it had barely been underway during NSFs flyover in February. A wider view of Exploration Park, from the Lunar Plant 1 partially visible on the left, to the Chemical Processing Facility on the right. (Credit: Max Evans for NSF)

Lunar Plant 1, which is now outfitted with at least two bridge cranes for a transfer aisle, will manufacture Blue Moon lunar landers and is an important piece of Blue Origins lunar strategy. Next to the Lunar Plant 1 facility, the foundation is being laid for the upcoming Metal Forming Facility. This facility is roughly the same size as the Light Industrial Building next to
it, but will be likely expanded in the future.

Blue Origins activity in Texas is also contributing to its lunar efforts. Besides the historic and controversial NS-31 mission completed this month, flying six women into space for a suborbital flight, New Shepard also demonstrated its ability to conduct experiments using simulated lunar gravity on a previous uncrewed flight. Blue Origins BE-7 prototype engine. (Credit: Blue Origin)

The companys BE-3U, BE-4, and BE-7 engines are manufactured in Huntsville, Alabama. Engine testing takes place at Test Stand 4670 in Huntsville as well as the companys test site in Van Horn, Texas, near where the New Shepard launch facility is located.

The BE-7 engines use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellants, and
are capable of generating up to 44.5 kN (10,000 lbf) of thrust. They will be used in Blue Origins Blue Moon MK1 robotic Lunar lander, as well as the MK2 human lander. A Blue Moon MK1 pathfinder could fly on an upcoming New Glenn flight as soon as this year.

(Lead image: Blue Origins BE-3U upper stage for the second New Glenn flight test firing on April 24, 2025, at LC-36. Credit: Blue Origin)



The post Blue Origin test fires second stage and continues preparations for New Glenns second flight appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/04/blue-origin-gs2-test/


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