Earlier this year, Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicle was installed for the first time on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida for ground testing. Now it has become known that the carrier can go on its first test flight in October of this year.
Image source: Blue Origin
According to Blue Origin, the first flight of the New Glenn rocket will take place no earlier than October 13. It is curious that during the first flight of the carrier, the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) plans to send two small satellites into outer space as part of the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission.
Photon devices were manufactured by Rocket Lab and are designed to study the magnetosphere of Mars. The satellites were delivered to the spaceport on August 19 for integration with the rocket. It is likely that mid-October was not chosen by chance for the launch of New Glenn, since it was at this time that conditions would be favorable for conducting Mars missions.
Let us recall that initially the first flight of the New Glenn rocket was supposed to take place at the end of 2021. However, the launch was repeatedly postponed for various reasons. The New Glenn rocket itself is a larger version of the launch vehicle that Blue Origin uses for suborbital tourist flights. The carrier was announced in 2016. It is expected to be able to compete with heavy rockets from other companies, such as SpaceX Falcon Heavy.