As the first month of 2024 closes, Blue Origin is well into production with its orbital rocket, New Glenn. The company continues to check off major milestones as high-fidelity hardware arrives at Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) ahead of a testing campaign and a NASA mission scheduled for late 2024.
With New Glenn being 98 meters tall and seven meters wide, the vehicle is a large step up from the company’s suborbital rocket, New Shepard. This presents new challenges with design, manufacturing, transport, and testing. However, Blue Origin seems confident with its plan as there appears to be flight hardware for multiple rockets in production, and testing of the first tankage is currently in flow.