NASA has entered into a new agreement with Blue Origin to facilitate hot fire testing for the second stage of the company's New Glenn rocket. The testing will take place at the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, utilizing the historic B-2 test stand.
Scheduled to commence this fall, the testing program aims to support the broader Artemis initiative, which seeks to return American astronauts to the lunar surface and establish a sustained presence near the Moon's South Pole. NASA will provide technical expertise, specialized equipment, and engineering support to prepare the B-2 stand for the New Glenn second stage, which is powered by two BE-3 engines fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
"Winning the new space race means moving faster and working alongside a strong commercial industry," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. The collaboration is intended to bolster the U.S. space industrial base and advance propulsion capabilities necessary for future lunar and Mars exploration.
The B-2 test stand has a long history in American spaceflight, having originally been constructed for the Apollo program to test Saturn V rocket stages. More recently, it was used for the Green Run test series of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage ahead of the Artemis I mission.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp noted the significance of the location, stating, "Stennis helped take Americans to the Moon, and through this partnership, it will help take us back." In addition to the upcoming rocket testing, Blue Origin is also slated to launch a robotic mission this fall using its Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander to deliver NASA payloads to the lunar South Pole.
Source: NASA
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