This is an exciting time for Blue Origin and the BE-4 engine, after all, this engine has been brewing for a long time. In the future, this engine may become an indispensable core part of the future space launch plan of the United States, no matter how Blue Origin owns its launch vehicle program.
Editor’s note: This article is from “Tencent Technology” , reproduced with permission.
According to foreign media reports, Blue Origin, a space exploration technology company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced that its new rocket is located in Huntsville, Alabama, USA The engine production plant has started.
It is reported that the new plant will be able to produce rocket engines faster. Obviously, this will be of great help to Blue Origin, because the company is preparing to use its BE-4 engine under development for its own New Glenn rocket. In addition, it will provide thrust for the United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) new Vulcan launch vehicle.
Blue Origin began developing the BE-4 engine in 2011. Although it was originally designed specifically for the “New Glen” rocket, ULA announced in 2014 that it will also use this engine for its next generation Vulcan rocket powered. The BE-4 has a thrust of 550,000 pounds (about 250 tons), uses a mixture of LNG and oxygen as fuel, and is designed from the ground up for heavy lifting capacity.
Blue Origin said that the first two BE-4 engines will be delivered later this year and will be delivered to ULA to integrate them on the Vulcan rocket for the first static hot fire test. In addition, Blue Origin plans to launch a new Glen rocket with a BE-4 engine in 2021 for its first test flight.
BE-4 engines are currently undergoing longer tests to prove their effectiveness, and will work to fully qualify them through life-cycle testing, designed to replicate what hardware will experience in actual use. Pressure and operating conditions. The test process will include the modification and upgrade of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center’s 4670 test bed, enabling Blue Origin to test and compare BE-3 and BE-4 engines simultaneously.
This is an exciting time for Blue Origin and the BE-4 engine, after all, this engine has been brewing for a long time. In the future, this engine may become an indispensable core part of the future space launch plan of the United States, no matter how Blue Origin owns its launch vehicle program. (Tencent Technology Review /Breeze)