Tag: Vulcan rocket
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Amazon is getting ready to launch a lot of broadband satellites
Within a few years, Amazon hopes to be building and launching up to 80 satellites per month to populate the company’s Kuiper constellation, a $10 billion network that is similar to fleets already operated by SpaceX and OneWeb providing Internet connectivity around the world. In the next six months, Amazon plans to begin production of…
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Blue Origin’s next-gen BE-4 rocket engine fails dramatically during testing in Texas
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine undergoes a test firing in Texas in 2019. (Blue Origin File Photo) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture confirmed that one of its BE-4 rocket engines suffered a significant anomaly during testing at its West Texas facility in late June. The incident first came to light today in a report…
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ULA shipping Vulcan upper stage back to factory for more work
United Launch Alliance technicians at Cape Canaveral, Florida, have partially disassembled the first Vulcan rocket to send the launch vehicle’s upper stage back to its factory for reinforcements to its paper-thin steel fuel tank. A test article for the Vulcan rocket’s Centaur V upper stage exploded on March 29 during a structural test at NASA’s…
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Vulcan aces engine test, but upper stage anomaly will delay launch for a while
The Vulcan rocket took a critical step toward its much-anticipated debut launch last week with a successful engine-firing test. However, one critical issue remains unresolved before the large booster can lift off. This final hurdle involves modifications to the rocket’s Centaur V upper stage, which exploded during a test at the end of March. On…
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Blue Origin completes delivery of BE-4 rocket engines for first ULA Vulcan launch
Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines are being placed onto United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket booster. (ULA Photo) Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture says it has completed delivery of the two BE-4 rocket engines that will be used next year for the first launch of United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan Centaur rocket. The delivery…
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Amazon switches Project Kuiper prototype satellites to ULA’s first Vulcan launch
An artist’s conception shows a ULA Vulcan Centaur rocket launching Amazon’s satellites. (Amazon Illustration) The first two prototype satellites for Amazon’s Project Kuiper broadband internet network are now due to launch on the first-ever flight of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket early next year, rather than on ABL Space Systems’ rocket. Today’s announcement comes…
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Jeff Bezos kicks back with full-thrust firing of Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine in Texas
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine lights up for a full-thrust test firing in Texas. (Jeff Bezos via Instagram) If you’re hanging out in West Texas during a pandemic, there are few fireworks shows more thrilling than a test firing of your very own rocket engine. At least that’s the way Blue Origin’s billionaire founder sees…
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ULA’s Vulcan rocket selected for launches of moon lander and mini-shuttle in 2021
An artist’s conception shows United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket lifting off. (ULA Illustration) United Launch Alliance’s next-generation Vulcan rocket – and Blue Origin’s next-generation BE-4 rocket engine – have been chosen to send Astrobotic’s Peregrine moon lander as well as Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Dream Chaser mini-shuttle to the final frontier in 2021. Neither of the…
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Blue Origin, ULA and Northrop Grumman weigh in on multibillion-dollar SpaceX rocket lawsuit
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine, shown here during a test firing in Texas, is being developed for use on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as well as United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. (Blue Origin Photo) Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and subsidiaries of United Launch Alliance and Northrop Grumman are intervening in…
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Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine wins United Launch Alliance’s key multibillion-dollar backing
Blue Origin’s BE-4 rocket engine went on display at a Colorado space conference in April. (Blue Origin Photo) After years of development and months of suspense, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture has won a high-stakes race to provide United Launch Alliance with its BE-4 rocket engine. First word of the win came…