‘Next step launch’: Jeff Bezos reacts as Blue Origin completes critical test ahead of New Glenn debut

Jeff Bezoz's Blue Origin on Saturday announced that its New Glenn rocket has successfully completed an integrated launch vehicle hotfire test, marking the last major milestone ahead of launch. Seven engines of New Glenn ignited for 24 seconds while being constrained to the launchpad in Cape Carnival, Florida. 

New Glenn has also received a commercial space launch license from the US Federal Aviation Administration for the first-ever mission of the company's New Glenn vehicle. FAA said that Blue Origin had met all the safety, environmental and other licensing requirements needed to obtain the license. 

“The license allows Blue Origin to conduct orbital missions from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with the reusable New Glenn first stage landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. It is valid for five years.” FAA said in a statement

“By working closely with Blue Origin, the FAA issued this new launch license well in advance of the statutory deadline for the historic maiden flight of New Glenn.” Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at FAA, Kelvin B. Coleman said in a statement

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp also reacted to the development in a post on X, writing, “A big thanks to the FAA for the partnership, especially over the holidays. Here’s to NG-1 -- we are really close, folks.”

What is New Glenn? 

New Glenn is a reusable rocket which is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. As per the company's website, New Glenn is engineered with the safety and redundancy required to fly humans, and will enable our vision of building a road to space for the benefit of Earth.

The launch vehicle was first unveiled in 2016 but has faced repeated delays since then. Its debut mission was previously supposed to launch a couple of NASA spacecraft to Mars before late October but the rocket was ready in time. It will now make its debut with a certificate mission mandated by US Space Force before the company can begin launching national security satellites, Reuters reported. 

Glenn will compete with Elon Musk-led SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which has become the most frequently used launch orbital vehicle worldwide. Falconn 9 is a partially reusable rocket but SpaceX is also in the process of testing its next generation rocket, Starship which the company claims would be fully reusable.  

The Starship is central to Musk's ambition of colonising Mars, with plans to send the first uncrewed missions to the Red Planet as early as 2026, aligning with the next “Mars transfer window” — a time when Earth and Mars are closest, making the journey more efficient.