Blue Origin and New SHEPARD RLV

My own theory (for what's its worth) is that NASA is lighting a fire under Bezos a$$. Indeed Blue Origin now has an HLS contract for their Blue Moon lunar lander: so they have to show something; fly anything.

I suspect the opposite -- NASA must have reason to believe that this launch is possible, so they may well have some inside knowledge on the progress of New Glenn that the public does not.
 
who knows what will happen as we saw with the first SpaceX Starship rocket blowing up on the launch pad.

The first Starship blew up the launch-pad before before lifting off, flying a technically successful flight before losing control and eventually destroyed by its' FTS.
 
At KSC is again a roll out of New Glenn first stage
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Word is that the forward segment is not flight-ready but the rest of the stage is.
This just a dummy Stage for testing:
The launcher-transporter operation,
The propellant loading system on pad,
and the test connections to the launcher Tower and support equipment.

This is just like Saturn V SA-500F
At that speed New Glenn first launch will be in 2025.
until that time unmanned Starship is operational...
 
This just a dummy Stage for testing:
The launcher-transporter operation,
The propellant loading system on pad,
and the test connections to the launcher Tower and support equipment.

This is just like Saturn V SA-500F
At that speed New Glenn first launch will be in 2025.
until that time unmanned Starship is operational...

That's not what the informed sources are saying. Again, folks who should know say that most of what rolled out is flight hardware, just that upper module is not.
 
So basically it's the 21st century equivalent of the Saturn I Block I rocket.

It's not flying like this, just doing some pad testing. Then it will be rolled back and fully fitted out. When they do the first launch it should be a full stack.
 
Yeah, all sources agree that everything but the inter-stage is flight hardware. And we've already seen what looks to be the flight inter-stage in other pics (attached picture outlined in red). Most likely the stage is being moved to the pad for tanking tests. Vulcan did something similar with testing the first stage alone before testing it with an upper stage. Once tests are done it will most likely roll back to get the flight inter-stage and finish integration.
 

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The Space Bucket has just put out a video about this:


Only days ago, two BE-4 engines took flight for the first time and proved themselves as capable next-generation hardware. Now to continue a great year so far for the company, Blue Origin just rolled out a New Glenn booster, almost all of which is actual flight hardware. This is big news as it suggests upcoming testing and marks a big milestone in the launch vehicle’s development.
For months now we have seen various clues from the company showcasing landing legs, engine sections, etc. It seems now they have put most of these pieces together and are ready to move on to the next step. Here I will go more in-depth into the new images, what the future holds for this hardware, progress toward the first launch, and more.
 
Yeah, all sources agree that everything but the inter-stage is flight hardware. And we've already seen what looks to be the flight inter-stage in other pics (attached picture outlined in red). Most likely the stage is being moved to the pad for tanking tests. Vulcan did something similar with testing the first stage alone before testing it with an upper stage. Once tests are done it will most likely roll back to get the flight inter-stage and finish integration.
Vulcan had engines and test fired.
 
Vulcan had engines and test fired.
I was referring to the tanking tests with the Vulcan pathfinder actually, which did not test fire and didn't have flight engines. Additionally, the NG's engine section was completely covered up during the move and we don't actually know if it has engines or not. Or if it does have engines if they are flight engines.
 
Now that BE-4 engines have flown on Vulcan, B.O has one good reason to accelerate... at last.
 
Blue Origin's CEO posted on LinkedIn and included pictures of the first and second stages. I guess the people who sort of joked about Blue just rolling out basically a completed NG one day were somewhat correct.


While there’s still a lot of work ahead, we’ve recently hit a couple of exciting and visible milestones for our forthcoming New Glenn rocket – and customers entrusting us with their payloads. Our first and second stage hardware have both left the factory and are now at our Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral. That 8-mile drive yesterday was fun to watch, but I am sure stressful for the truck driver and crew.

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Another progress report concerning the New Glenn, from TheSpaceBucket:


Blue Origin is a company that usually keeps most of its progress and developments to itself. This left the majority of people under the impression that New Glenn, the company’s next-generation launch vehicle, was still many years away from an actual flight test. Earlier today, however, the company shared some significant new information.
This included an image of both a test-ready first and upper stage of New Glenn being mated in the company’s hanger. This marks the first time the company has done this and is a major step in the goal of launching the rocket later this year. Here I will go more in-depth into the new update from Blue Origin, what we know about the flight later this year, upcoming tests, and more.
 
The New Glenn has begun pad testing, from the Space Bucket:


It seems each week we are receiving a new Blue Origin update from the company as they get closer to the maiden flight of New Glenn. Usually, they keep most information to themselves, however with the launch approaching, full-scale preparations tend to be much harder to hide and involve massive stages and infrastructure.
Just yesterday we got new images showcasing the structural New Glenn test article moved and raised vertically on the company’s launch site. This comes in addition to all the recent progress with the actual flight hardware and mating of the first and second stages. As of right now, Blue Origin is still planning to launch New Glenn for the first time late this year on a mission to Mars. Here I will go more in-depth into the recent test, its purpose, what it means for the future launch, and more.
 

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