Blue Origin has achieved another milestone yesterday in their ramp-up to the maiden launch of their first orbital rocket when they static-fired the second stage of New Glenn for around fifteen seconds at SLC-36 at Cape Canaveral on September 23rd.

Note: Blue Origin refers to the second-stage of the vehicle as GS2.

According to Dave Limp, CEO of Blue Origin, “GS2 is one of the largest and most capable upper stages ever developed with a propellant load comparable to a Delta IV booster. The two BE-3Us have a maximum thrust of up to 346,000 lbf (173,000 lbf per engine), which is the equivalent thrust of a dozen F-16 jets.”

That’s a lot of power, but it is only the launch vehicle’s second stage. The first stage of New Glenn produces 3,850,000 lbf of thrust, roughly half of a Saturn V. Whether there will be a full static fire of the booster has not been announced.

According to Blue Origin, New Glenn is slated to fly in November from Cape Canaveral.

Author: Charles Boyer

NASA kid from Cocoa Beach, FL, born of Project Apollo parents and family. I’m a writer and photographer sharing the story of spaceflight from the Eastern Range here in Florida.