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Blue Origin preps New Glenn for first booster reflights with NG-3 static fire

Blue Origin fired up its New Glenn rocket in a 19-second static test at Cape Canaveral ahead of NG-3, a mission designed to refly a previously flown booster and push the two-stage vehicle toward its first reflights; the company replaced all seven first-stage engines on the refurbished booster and added upgrades including a thermal protection system on one nozzle, with NG-3 slated to launch Sunday carrying a Block 2 AST SpaceMobile satellite to low Earth orbit.

1 month ago•Source: Space

Firefly Alpha returns to flight with 'Stairway to Seven' test from Vandenberg

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52.985 min•2 months ago

Firefly Alpha returns to flight with 'Stairway to Seven' test from Vandenberg

Firefly Aerospace is bringing its Alpha rocket back to flight from Vandenberg Space Force Base with the Stairway to Seven test mission, a two-stage launch to validate first- and second-stage performance ahead of its Block II upgrade; no operational payload will be flown. The lift-off window opens about 7:50 p.m. ET today (4:50 p.m. local), with NASASpaceflight and Space.com streaming the event; this flight follows Alpha's 2024 mishaps—a booster split and an upper-stage propellant loss—after which the FAA cleared Alpha to resume flights.

via Space

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Blue Origin preps New Glenn for first booster reflights with NG-3 static fire

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