the company said<\/a>. The two BE-3U engines, fueled by liquid oxygen and hydrogen and each producing 173,000 pounds of thrust, burned with a nearly transparent flame that approached a temperature of 6,000\u00b0 Fahrenheit.<\/p>\nThis marked the first time that Blue Origin, a space company founded by Jeff Bezos more than two decades ago, has integrated and fired an orbital rocket stage. After the test, Blue Origin said it is still tracking toward a November launch of the New Glenn rocket.<\/p>\n
A big boy<\/h2>\n
This vehicle is really big, standing 320 feet (98 meters) tall. By comparison, NASA’s titanic Saturn V Moon rocket was 363 feet tall. New Glenn’s first stage will be powered by seven BE-4 rocket engines, which burn methane and liquid oxygen. The performance of these engines has previously been demonstrated in flight on the debut of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket at the beginning of this year.<\/p>\n
Although Monday’s test checked an important box for Blue Origin, there is still much work to do to prepare the New Glenn rocket for its debut. Crucially, the company must complete assembly of the first stage, and then roll this vehicle out from its assembly building a couple of miles to Launch Complex-36, along the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n