{"id":9576,"date":"2026-04-16T20:18:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:18:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T20:18:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T12:18:09","slug":"blue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin hot fires its first previously flown booster, prepares for weekend launch"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_73154\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73154\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-73154\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260416_Bluebird_static_fire.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260416_Bluebird_static_fire.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260416_Bluebird_static_fire-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73154\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket roars to life during a roughly 20-second static fire test of its seven BE-4 engines. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida.<\/p>\n<p>The seven BE-4 engines fired for about 20 seconds, at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC). Engineers will now pore through the data and if everything looks good, the launch with AST SpaceMobile\u2019s BlueBird-7 satellite could take place as soon as Sunday, April 19.<\/p>\n<p>About five seconds prior to ignition, the water deluge system sprang to life, dumping thousands of gallons of water on the launch pad to dampen the sound from the engines. Each BE-4 can produce 640,000 lbf (2,846 kN) thrust at sea level.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2044746729879204249&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2026%2F04%2F16%2Fblue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=a28c0597756e5ebee6eb7a1b3ddacdf266431eb1&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"2044746729879204249\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782461287019775617=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Static fire for Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket occurred at 7:45 a.m. EDT (1145 UTC). If all went well the BlueBird 7 mission could launch as soon as April 19. <img decoding=\"async\" draggable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"emoji\" alt=\"\ud83d\udcf7\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/svg\/1f4f7.svg\"> @ABernNYC pic.twitter.com\/hZJ70yGXb5<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Spaceflight Now (@SpaceflightNow) April 16, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The upcoming launch of what Blue Origin calls NG-3 marks a critical milestone for the company\u2019s heavy-lift rocket. The booster, \u2018Never Tell Me the Odds\u2019, is partially being reused after previously flying and successfully landing during the NG-2 mission in late 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said that the engines are not the same as the ones that powered the rocket to deliver NASA\u2019s EscaPADE satellites to orbit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith our first refurbished booster we elected to replace all seven engines and test out a few upgrades including a thermal protection system on one of the engine nozzles,\u201d Limp wrote in an April 13 post on X. \u201cWe plan to use the engines we flew for NG-2 on future flights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin is just the second company to successfully land an orbital class rocket booster in a vertical descent, after SpaceX, which has reflown boosters more than 550 times at this point.<\/p>\n<p>Both companies use remotely-operated landing vessels to recover their boosters. SpaceX also has two landing pads in Florida, along with one in California. Blue Origin hasn\u2019t announced plans for a landing pad just yet.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin said it\u2019s designing its boosters to support up to 25 flights each, but it\u2019s unclear if that will include reusing the same set of engines 25 times along with the rest of the booster structure.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-1\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2042652185662726219&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2026%2F04%2F16%2Fblue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=a28c0597756e5ebee6eb7a1b3ddacdf266431eb1&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"2042652185662726219\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782461287019775617=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Booster 3 almost done\u2026 \u201cNo, It\u2019s Necessary\u201d Welcome to the fleet. pic.twitter.com\/oTkAFMdrTe<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Dave Limp (@davill) April 10, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Limp recently unveiled their next booster in development, which the company named \u2018No, It\u2019s Necessary.\u2019 Presumably, this will be the booster used to launch Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon Mk. 1 lunar lander, but that hasn\u2019t been formally announced.<\/p>\n<p>The Moon-bound lander recently finished thermal vacuum chamber testing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and is currently on a barge back to Florida for final checkouts and prelaunch preparation.<\/p>\n<p>That cargo lander is a precursor to the larger Blue Moon Mk. 2, which will carry humans to the Moon\u2019s surface on future Artemis missions. NASA is closely watching the development progress of this lander since it and SpaceX\u2019s Starship are poised to dock with the Orion spacecraft in low Earth orbit during the Artemis 3 mission, which is scheduled for sometime around mid-2027.<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-2\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2042346677277691979&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fspaceflightnow.com%2F2026%2F04%2F16%2Fblue-origin-hot-fires-its-first-previously-flown-booster-prepares-for-weekend-launch%2F&amp;sessionId=a28c0597756e5ebee6eb7a1b3ddacdf266431eb1&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"2042346677277691979\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782461287019775617=\"true\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Endurance has successfully completed thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) testing! We\u2019re now preparing for our lunar lander\u2019s return to Florida. pic.twitter.com\/MGABuZPXYP<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April 9, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket roars to life during a roughly 20-second static fire test of its seven BE-4 engines. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket roared to life in a critical pre-launch demonstration of its main engines Thursday, less than an hour after the Sun crested over the horizon in Florida. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[575,509,776,773,510,777],"class_list":["post-9576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-ast-spacemobile","tag-blue-origin","tag-bluebird-7","tag-lc-36","tag-new-glenn","tag-ng-3"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9576"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9576"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9576\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}