posted 09-15-2016 08:32 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital launch vehicles.

posted 09-15-2016 08:34 PM               

During a half-hour-long question-and-answer period, he offered some additional insights into his vision for how humans will eventually spread out into the solar system, what he hopes his legacy will be and how he competes against other billionaire space enthusiasts such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson.

posted 09-26-2016 04:02 PM               

Exciting results from three weeks of wind tunnel testing of New Glenn at transonic and supersonic speeds.

posted 09-26-2016 06:49 PM               

I couldn't confirm it, but I'm pretty sure it's Lockheed Martin's High Speed Wind Tunnel in Dallas.

posted 12-09-2016 07:35 AM               

I'm deeply touched that you've named the second generation of [Blue Origin's] rockets — the first reusable rocket to orbit the Earth — the New Glenn. As the original Glenn, I can tell you I see the day coming when people will board spacecraft the same way millions of us now board jetliners. When that happens, it will be largely because of your achievements this year.

posted 03-07-2017 09:11 AM               

Eutelsat signs up for Blue Origin's New Glenn launcher

Eutelsat to fly on New Glenn from 2021

Eutelsat Communications today [March 7] announced at the Satellite 2017 Convention in Washington D.C. the conclusion of a contract with Blue Origin for a launch on the New Glenn rocket that is expected to initiate flights in 2020.

The new partnership with Blue Origin reflects Eutelsat's longstanding strategy to source launch services from multiple agencies in order to secure access to space and partner with launch agencies that combine the highest levels of performance, flexibility and competitiveness.

The agreement with Blue Origin covers the launch of a geostationary satellite in the 2021-2022 timeframe. The New Glenn launcher will be compatible with virtually all Eutelsat satellites, giving flexibility to allocate the mission 12 months ahead of launch.

Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat CEO, commented on the new relationship with Blue Origin: "Blue Origin has been forthcoming with Eutelsat on its strategy and convinced us they have the right mindset to compete in the launch service industry. Their solid engineering approach, and their policy to develop technologies that will form the base of a broad generation of launchers, corresponds to what we expect from our industrial partners. In including New Glenn in our manifest we are pursuing our longstanding strategy of innovation that drives down the cost of access to space and drives up performance. This can only be good news for the profitability and sustainability of our industry."

"Eutelsat is one of the world's most experienced and innovative satellite operators, and we are honoured that they chose Blue Origin and our New Glenn orbital launch vehicle," said Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin founder. "Eutelsat has launched satellites on many new vehicles and shares both our methodical approach to engineering and our passion for driving down the cost of access to space. Welcome to the launch manifest, Eutelsat, can't wait to fly together."

posted 09-12-2017 05:37 AM               

New Glenn features more than twice the payload volume of any 5-meter class commercial launch system.

posted 09-12-2017 08:33 PM               

I think it's representative of freedom and exploration and mobility and progress. For the people who are in love with flight, there is no substitute.

posted 03-29-2018 12:44 PM               

Although the company's website still shows New Glenn with a second stage powered by a reignitable version of the BE-4 it is developing to power the main stage of both New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, that configuration is now out of date.

A Blue Origin executive told SpaceNews the company is shelving development of a vacuum-optimized version of BE-4 and will instead use vacuum-optimized versions of flight-proven BE-3 engines for New Glenn's second stage and optional third stage.

"We've already flown BE-3s, and we were already in the development program for BE-3U as the third stage for New Glenn," said Clay Mowry, Blue Origin's vice president of sales, marketing and customer experience. "It made a lot of sense for us to switch to an architecture where we get there faster for first flight."

The BE-3U is the upper stage variant of the liquid hydrogen-fueled BE-3 engine that has powered Blue Origin's reusable New Shepard spacecraft on six suborbital test flights since its 2015 debut.

posted 03-03-2020 09:43 AM               

2020 is shaping up to be a busy year for the Blue team in Florida – starting with the completion of the first full scale New Glenn 7 meter fairing at our rocket factory in Cape Canaveral.

posted 12-29-2020 10:35 PM               

My siblings and I surprised our mom today. We revealed the name of the Blue Origin landing ship. We named it after her — the Jacklyn.

New Glenn's first stage will come home to the Jacklyn after every flight. It couldn't be more appropriately named — Mom has always given us the best place and best heart to come home to.

posted 08-23-2023 02:14 PM               

I got to see New Glenn manufacturing up close, which is an essential element of their Blue Moon human landing system architecture.

posted 11-20-2023 02:25 PM               

...he acknowledged "some schedule risk" to those plans given the state of New Glenn development.

posted 01-10-2024 05:08 PM               

Photos courtesy Sean Cannon.

posted 01-22-2024 05:19 PM               

The first and second stages of New Glenn’s test vehicle mate for the first time, enabling us to exercise our tooling and stage interfaces in preparation for our first launch later this year.

posted 03-05-2024 04:02 PM               

We've wrapped up three tanking tests on New Glenn’s first stage and are headed back to the integration facility today. Rest assured, there's much more to come.

posted 05-23-2024 06:01 PM               

We're rolling out our New Glenn simulator again today (May 23) for a series of transport erector integrated ground tests in preparation for launch later this year. Tests will include powering up the pumps that provide pressure to the vehicle hydraulic system, validating the ground system supplying commodities to the rocket, and a rapid retract test of the umbilical connections.

posted 09-02-2024 01:42 PM               

Jacklyn, our New Glenn landing vessel, is arriving very soon. Sneak peek:

posted 09-04-2024 12:29 PM               

Amazingly, Jacklyn's landing pad is the same size as New Shepard's — 200 feet in diameter. And yet, New Glenn's booster is 188 feet tall with seven engines versus New Shepard's, which is 54 feet tall with one engine.

This comes down to physics — it's easier to balance a broom on your palm rather than a pencil because the broom has a higher center of mass.

You'll also notice there's no bridge on the Jacklyn — that's because there aren't any humans onboard the vessel during landing.

We hope to stick the landing on our first New Glenn launch — but if we're not successful, we'll learn, and keep trying until we do.

posted 09-06-2024 01:58 PM               

We plan to move up New Glenn's second flight, originally scheduled for December, into November. New Glenn will carry Blue Ring technology and mark our first National Security Space Launch certification flight.

We'll provide more details on these launch plans in the coming weeks.

posted 09-11-2024 01:03 PM               

Some of you recently asked additional questions about Comet, the thermal protection system we created for New Glenn, and whether we'll paint it on our vehicle. We could — but have chosen not to for a variety of reasons, including adding unnecessary weight.

It has been applied on our fins, forward module, strakes, tank tunnel, and the aft section, including the legs.

As for the color, you tell me: Copper? Gold? Brown? Given the the thermal environment, we expect the material will change colors on our booster as we fly multiple missions.

Regarding the strake you see at the top of the image, there are two of them, and each is about the size of an F-16 wing and carries 175,000 lbs of lift when our stage re-enters for landing on Jacklyn. The strake is designed to accommodate two inches of thermal "growth" during the different phases of flight. In other words, there are temperature differences during the mission of up to several hundred degrees Fahrenheit that cause the tank to shrink and the strakes to grow.

posted 09-13-2024 07:09 PM               

We have a cool history naming key Blue hardware that dates back to New Shepard. We're calling New Glenn's first booster "So You're Telling Me There's a Chance."

Why? No one has landed a reusable booster on the first try. Yet, we're going for it, and humbly submit having good confidence in landing it.

But like I said a couple of weeks ago, if we don't, we'll learn and keep trying until we do.

posted 10-24-2024 09:51 AM               

Seven BE-4s: New Glenn engine installation is complete!

posted 10-30-2024 10:42 AM               

New Glenn's GS1 is on the move!

Our transporter comprises two trailers connected by cradles and a strongback assembly designed in-house. There are 22 axles and 176 tires on this transport vehicle. It's towed by an Oshkosh M1070, a repurposed U.S. Army tank transporter, with 505 horsepower and 1,825 pound-feet of torque. Seems fitting we've named it GERT — Giant Enormous Rocket Truck.

The distance between GERT's front bumper and the trailer's rear is 310 feet, about the length of a football field. It's a 23-mile, multiple-hour journey to our pad because we have to take the long way around.

posted 11-21-2024 10:27 PM               

Another step towards launch.

The transport and lift operation relies on our Transporter Erector or TE, a structure that's almost 300 feet long and 50 feet wide and weighs more than 4 million pounds. Once at the pad, the TE is set into its pivot point – large clamps secure it in place before hydraulic actuators lift the vehicle upright. These four massive actuators are four feet in diameter, extend 42 feet into the foundation, and deliver 15 million pounds of lifting force.

posted 12-16-2024 08:53 AM               

We are all clear to complete a wet dress rehearsal this week ahead of hotfire for New Glenn.

posted 12-27-2024 06:44 PM               

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

posted 12-27-2024 08:23 PM               

Well, all we have left to do is mate our encapsulated payload... and then LAUNCH!

Congrats to the many Blue folks on today's test. Big day for our seven BE-4 engines, simultaneously firing for the first time for 24 seconds. Get this – a single BE-4 turbopump can fit in the backseat of a car. When all seven pump fuel and oxygen from the BE-4's common shaft, they produce enough horsepower to propel two Nimitz-class aircraft carriers at full tilt.

The launch pad is the harshest environment for a vehicle, experiencing intense shaking from full engine thrust across the entire spectrum. To mitigate this, our water tower, one of the tallest in the world at 353 feet, plays a crucial role—storing water that is piped into the flame deflector, the launch table, and across the launch pad deck, providing thermal protection, and dampening as much acoustic energy as possible during liftoff. Our water deluge system expels around 400,000 gal/min during launch, with a good portion quickly turning into steam.