Blue Origin has successfully completed testing on the second stage of its heavy-lift rocket New Glenn, ahead of a hoped-for launch later this year.

Jeff Bezos’ space firm originally planned an inaugural flight for 2020. Now, after multiple delays, New Glenn is on the cusp of its first launch, with a mission to carry a prototype Blue Ring spacecraft.

Its latest hotfire test marked “a milestone on our road to first flight”, Blue Origin said. The 15-second test marked the first time the vehicle was operated as an integrated system and validated interactions between the subsystems, two BE-3U engines and ground control systems.

It also demonstrated the functionality of New Glenn’s three key systems: the tank pressurisation control system, which uses helium to pressurise the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks during flight; the thrust vector control system, which steers the rocket during flight; and the start-up and shut-down sequences for the BE-3U systems, which control the upper stage...