Blue Origin completes tanking tests on the first stage of New Glenn

Space rocket company Blue Origin announced that it has completed tanking tests on the first stage of the New Glenn rocket and the vehicle is now rolled back to its integration facility.

The cryogenic tanking test consists of different milestones including propellant loading, spotting leaks, conducting pressurization tests, checking venting systems, and more.

Although the company has not revealed specific details but here’s a procedure that is at the core of such tests.

Image Credit: Blue Origin

According to NASA, the cryogenic loading and ground automation transition temperature and pressures during tanking to identify leaks. It is followed by a series of tests to assess risks and faults in the vehicle before a real flight.

Last month, Blue Origin rolled out a New Glenn vehicle to the launch pad at the Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) and placed it vertically.

It is a 320 feet tall rocket which is equivalent to a 30-story building and features seven-meter payload fairings. Its first stage consists of seven BE-4 engines it uses liquid oxygen (LOX) / liquefied natural gas (LNG) field oxygen-rich staged combustion.

Each of the BE-4 engines is capable of generating 550,000 lbf (2,450 kN) thrust at sea level. Two of the BE-4 engines were also used in the first stage of the ULA’s Vulcan rocket launched earlier this year.

Blue Origin has planned to launch a maiden New Glenn flight later this in 2024.

(source – Blue Origin)