Blue Origin Slapped With Fine Ahead of New Glenn Launch

Just days before Blue Origin’s highly anticipated rocket launch, the company was fined for a previous New Glenn test conducted without permission.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) issued Blue Origin a $3,000 fine (plus a modest $3,250 plus costs) for unauthorized use of a water deluge system during static fire tests of its New Glen rocket, according to local media. Report.

In September 2024, Blue Origin conducted a fuel test of its upcoming rocket at Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Hot fire test permanent for 15 seconds, and was intended to “verify the interaction between the second stage subsystem, its two BE-3U engines, and the ground control system,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement at the time. FDEP, however, had not yet issued Blue Origin the necessary permit to use the launch pad’s deluge system, but the company went ahead and used it anyway, resulting in fines.

“Although Blue Origin applied for a permit for the LC-36 deluge system on May 31, 2024, no permit has been issued to date and the system may not be placed in service,” FDEP wrote in a letter. “This static fire appears to constitute a deliberate unauthorized discharge of untreated industrial wastewater into the environment.”

Blue Origin’s heavy-lift vehicle Set for launch before Friday, January 10 During the three-hour launch window that opens at 1 a.m. ET. For the inaugural flight, New Glen will carry Blue Origins blue ring pathfinder, And its debut will double as the rocket’s first certification flight, paving the way for it to carry national security payloads on future missions.

The rocket has been in development for nearly a decade, but a recent series of tests that took place last year paved the way for its first liftoff. The New Glenn was originally scheduled to debut in 2020, however, delays in the development of its seven BE-4 engines (designed by Blue Origin) pushed back its inaugural flight by several years.

At an altitude of about 320 feet (98 m), New Glenn is capable of lifting 45 tons into low Earth orbit and 13 tons into geostationary orbit. The rocket has a reusable first stage designed to last for 25 missions.

Like Blue Origin, industry rival SpaceX also bypassed the regulations with its launch pad water deluge system. In 2023, SpaceX tests its water deluge system without applying for environmental permits It is necessary to do this. The company was fined for dumping wastewater around the launch pad without permission, but this had little effect on SpaceX. The fine was a mere slap on the wrist—hardly a deterrent for a company owned by the world’s richest man. In August 2024, CNBC Report That SpaceX allegedly violated environmental regulations by releasing industrial water through a water deluge system at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas.

With New Glenn’s upcoming debut, Blue Origin could have a chance to compete with industry giant SpaceX, fueling a feud between two rocket billionaires, Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who are both notorious for flouting their rules. Under Donald Trump’s presidency, with Musk at his side, those kinds of regulations may be even less effective as the space industry looks to bolster its operations with no strings attached.