NASA and Blue Origin announced Friday that they recently agreed to conduct second-stage hot-fire tests for the company’s New Glenn rocket at the B-2 test bed at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The addendum to a reimbursable Space Act Agreement signed earlier this month highlights NASA’s commitment to working together with commercial partners for the Artemis missions in 2027 and beyond.

“Stennis remains a hub for the commercial space industry,” said Senator Roger Wicker. “Mississippi warmly welcomes Blue Origin’s return to the coast and our legendary rocket testing facilities.”

“The success of Artemis II has its roots in NASA Stennis, and I am excited about the prospect of Blue Origin establishing a rigorous testing program in Mississippi as part of future American crewed missions to the Moon and beyond. I hope their use of the B-2 test bed becomes a long-term agreement that expands our state’s contribution to space exploration. I will certainly do everything I can to make that a reality,” said Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith.

“Mississippi continues to play a vital role in the United States space program, and this agreement between NASA and Blue Origin is another important victory for Stennis Space Center. The world-class capabilities on the B-2 test bed will help advance the next generation of rocket propulsion while supporting high-skilled jobs and strengthening our nation’s leadership in space exploration. I look forward to seeing the innovation that comes from this partnership,” said Rep. Mike Ezell.

The tests, scheduled to begin this fall, directly support NASA’s work to achieve the national goal of landing American astronauts on the surface of the Moon and building a lunar base near the lunar South Pole. These efforts aim to strengthen American leadership in space, unlock scientific discoveries, drive innovation in industry, and prepare for human missions to Mars.

“Winning the new space race means moving faster and working alongside a strong commercial industry. Supporting Blue Origin at NASA’s Stennis Space Center puts world-class American infrastructure to work to advance the capabilities needed to return astronauts to the Moon, establish a sustained lunar presence, and prepare for Mars. Partnerships like this strengthen our industrial base and help ensure the United States remains the world leader in space,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.

Building on April’s successful Artemis II flight, Artemis III is a highly choreographed multi-launch campaign that will require four astronauts to test the rendezvous and docking capabilities of NASA’s Orion spacecraft with commercial human landing systems from Blue Origin and SpaceX in low Earth orbit.

Additionally, Blue Origin’s New Glenn will be used to launch missions that will land on the Moon.

“We are proud to partner with NASA and build on our shared commitment to returning America to the Moon and our broader mission to build a path to space for the benefit of Earth,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp. “Stennis helped put Americans on the moon, and through this partnership, he will help us get back.”

In May, NASA announced the first three lunar base missions to begin building sustained operations, including an award to Blue Origin to launch a robotic mission this fall. The company’s Blue Moon Mark 1 Endurance lander will deliver NASA payloads to Shackleton Connecting Ridge at the lunar South Pole, demonstrating capabilities that reduce the risk of astronauts landing on the Moon during Artemis IV and V in 2028.

To support the upcoming tests at Stennis, NASA will provide the engineers, equipment and construction services necessary to design, build and install parts that will prepare the B-2 for testing of the second stage of the rocket named after the late NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The rocket’s second stage is powered by two BE-3 engines using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants, with each engine generating 200,000 pounds of thrust in a vacuum.

In addition to providing hands-on technical support, NASA will also assist Blue Origin’s test operations by providing a dedicated workspace and sharing the agency’s experience and lessons learned from propulsion tests conducted at the test bed.

Blue Origin will work on second-stage rocket testing at a stand with a history of testing rocket stages for Moon missions dating back to the 1960s. The agency built the stand to test the stages of the Saturn V rocket that took humans to the Moon during the Apollo Program. More recently, NASA conducted a series of Green Run tests of the SLS core stage on the stand prior to the Artemis I test flight.

For more information about NASA’s Artemis program, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

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Camille Gallo/Cheryl Warner
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
camille.m.gallo@nasa.gov / cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov

Sallie Bilbo
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
228-342-6512
sallie.n.bilbo@nasa.gov