The roadway to the 2nd flight of Blue Origin’s heavy-lifting New Glenn rocket got a lot clearer Thursday night with a success test-firing of the launcher’s 7 primary engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.

Basing on a seaside launch pad, the New Glenn rocket sparked its 7 BE-4 primary engines at 9:59 pm EDT Thursday (01:59 UTC Friday). The engines burned for 38 seconds while the rocket stayed strongly on the ground, according to a social networks post by Blue Origin.

The hold-down shooting of the very first phase engines was the last significant test of the New Glenn rocket before launch day. Blue Origin formerly test-fired the rocket’s second-stage engines. Authorities have actually not revealed a target launch date, however sources inform Ars the rocket might be all set for liftoff as quickly as November 9.

“Love seeing New Glenn’s 7 BE-4 engines come alive! Congratulations to Team Blue on today’s hotfire,” the business’s CEO, Dave Limp, published on X.

Blue Origin, the area business owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, stated the engines ran at complete power for 22 seconds, creating almost 3.9 million pounds of thrust. Limp stated engineers extended this test-firing and closed down a few of the BE-4 engines to replicate the booster’s landing burn series, which Blue Origin hopes will culminate in an effective goal on a barge drifting downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.

“This assists us comprehend fluid interactions in between active and non-active engine feedlines throughout landing,” Limp composed.

Blue Origin is depending on recuperating the New Glenn very first phase on the next flight after missing out on the landing on the rocket’s inaugural objective in January. Authorities prepare to recycle this booster on the 3rd New Glenn launch early next year, slated to move Blue Origin’s very first unpiloted Blue Moon lander towards the Moon. If Blue Origin stops working to land this rocket, it’s not likely a brand-new very first phase booster will be prepared to introduce till at some point later on in 2026.

A couple of more things to do

With the test-firing total, Blue Origin’s landing crew will decrease the more than 320-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket and roll it back to a neighboring garage. There, specialists will examine the car and switch its payload fairing for another clamshell including 2 NASA-owned spacecraft set to start their journey to Mars.