Just days before Blue Origin’s expected rocket launch, the company was fined for a previous New Glenn test that was conducted without a permit.

The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) issued a $3,000 fine (plus a small $3,250 plus costs) to Blue Origin for unauthorized use of a water deluge system during a static fire test in New Glenn rocket, according to local media reports.

In September 2024, Blue Origin conducted a fueling test of its future rocket at Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. The test of hot fire EXISTED for 15 seconds, and its purpose is to “validate the interactions between the subsystems of the second stage, the two BE-3U engines, and the ground control systems,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement of time. The FDEP, however, has not yet issued Blue Origin the required permit to use the water deluge system on the launch pad, but the company went ahead and used it anyway, resulting in the fine.

“While 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,” the FDEP said. wrote 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 is is scheduled to launch no earlier than Friday, January 10 during a three-hour launch window that opens at 1 am ET. For its inaugural flight, New Glenn will carry Blue Origin’s Blue Ring Pathfinder, and its debut will also double as the rocket’s first certified 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 the seven BE-4 engines (designed by Blue Origin) pushed back its inaugural flight by several years. .

Standing about 320 feet tall (98 meters), New Glenn can lift 45 tons into low Earth orbit and 13 tons into Geostationary orbit. The rocket has a usable first stage designed to last for 25 missions.

Like Blue Origin, industry rival SpaceX also violated regulations on the launch pad’s water deluge system. In 2023, SpaceX tested its water deluge system without applying for environmental permits required to do so. The company was fined for discharging wastewater around the launch pad without a permit, but this had little effect on SpaceX. Fines are just a slap on the wrist—will never stop a company owned by the world’s richest man. In August 2024, CNBC reported that SpaceX allegedly violated environmental regulations by releasing industrial water through the water deluge system at the company’s Starbase facility in Texas.

With the upcoming debut of New Glenn, Blue Origin may have the opportunity to compete with the industrial giant SpaceX, which has further fueled the conflict between the two rocket billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, both of whom are famous in their contempt for regulations. Under a presidency of Donald Trump, with Musk at his side, these types of regulations may be less effective as the space industry looks to strengthen its activities without rope attached.