The road to the second flight of Blue Origin\u2019s heavy-lifting New Glenn rocket got a lot clearer Thursday night with a success test-firing of the launcher\u2019s seven main engines on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.<\/p>\n
Standing on a seaside launch pad, the New Glenn rocket ignited its seven BE-4 main engines at 9:59 pm EDT Thursday (01:59 UTC Friday). The engines burned for 38 seconds while the rocket remained firmly on the ground, according to a social media post<\/a> by Blue Origin.<\/p>\n The hold-down firing of the first stage engines was the final major test of the New Glenn rocket before launch day. Blue Origin previously test-fired the rocket\u2019s second-stage engines. Officials have not announced a target launch date, but sources tell Ars the rocket could be ready for liftoff as soon as November 9.<\/p>\n \u201cLove seeing New Glenn\u2019s seven BE-4 engines come alive! Congratulations to Team Blue on today\u2019s hotfire,\u201d the company\u2019s CEO, Dave Limp, posted on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n Blue Origin, the space company owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, said the engines operated at full power for 22 seconds, generating nearly 3.9 million pounds of thrust. Limp said engineers extended this test-firing and shut down some of the BE-4 engines to simulate the booster\u2019s landing burn sequence, which Blue Origin hopes will culminate in a successful touchdown on a barge floating downrange in the Atlantic Ocean.<\/p>\n \u201cThis helps us understand fluid interactions between active and inactive engine feedlines during landing,\u201d Limp wrote.<\/p>\n