{"id":18345,"date":"2018-09-27T22:05:27","date_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:05:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/blue-origins-be-4-rocket-engine-wins-united-launch-alliances-key-multibillion-dollar-backing\/"},"modified":"2018-09-27T22:05:27","modified_gmt":"2018-09-27T14:05:27","slug":"blue-origins-be-4-rocket-engine-wins-united-launch-alliances-key-multibillion-dollar-backing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/blue-origins-be-4-rocket-engine-wins-united-launch-alliances-key-multibillion-dollar-backing\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4 rocket engine wins United Launch Alliance\u2019s key multibillion-dollar backing"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_413781\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-413781\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-413781\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180420-blue-630x443.jpg\" alt=\"Blue Origin BE-4 engine\" width=\"630\" height=\"443\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180420-blue-630x443.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180420-blue-768x541.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/180420-blue-1260x887.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-413781\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4 rocket engine went on display at a Colorado space conference in April. (Blue Origin Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After years of development and months of suspense, Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture has won a high-stakes race to provide United Launch Alliance with its BE-4 rocket engine.<\/p>\n<p>First word of the win came unofficially in a&nbsp;Wall Street Journal report, and was confirmed hours later by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed joint venture. United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno confirmed that BE-4 engines would be used on the first stage of ULA\u2019s yet-to-be-built Vulcan rocket.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are pleased to enter into this partnership with Blue Origin and look forward to a successful first flight of our next-generation launch vehicle,\u201d Bruno said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said he was \u201cvery glad\u201d to see the BE-4 engine selected as the Vulcan rocket\u2019s prime propulsion system.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnited Launch Alliance is the premier launch service provider for national security missions, and we\u2019re thrilled to be part of their team and that mission,\u201d said Smith, who took on the CEO role for Bezos\u2019 venture last year. \u201cWe can\u2019t thank Tory Bruno and the entire United Launch Alliance team enough for entrusting our engine to powering the Vulcan rocket\u2019s first stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bezos himself chimed in on Twitter:<\/p>\n<p><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowtransparency=\"true\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden; width: 0px; height: 0px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=b0yle&amp;dnt=true&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1045423889856192512&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.geekwire.com%2F2018%2Freport-blue-origins-4-rocket-engine-wins-united-launch-alliances-multibillion-dollar-backing%2F&amp;sessionId=bf96afb1218fe74ac4322c9334b0b01e3c5bd899&amp;siteScreenName=geekwire&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px\" data-tweet-id=\"1045423889856192512\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\" data-twitter-extracted-i1782802443038432007=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Big win for @BlueOrigin today! And a big thank you to @ulalaunch for choosing our BE-4 engine. Excited to be a part of Vulcan\u2019s mission to space. #21stCenturyEngine #AllAmericanEngine #GradatimFerociter https:\/\/t.co\/K0Szt3jesi<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) September 27, 2018<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The announcement caps what United Launch Alliance CEO Tory Bruno has said will be a multibillion-dollar partnership&nbsp;on the Vulcan project. The rocket is designed to send up to 56,000 pounds of payload to low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>Using Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4, a 550,000-pound-thrust engine that\u2019s fueled by liquefied natural gas, would follow through on Congress\u2019 requirement that ULA stop using Russian-made RD-180 engines.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos has been covering the bulk of the development cost for the BE-4, which is also destined to be used on Blue Origin\u2019s reusable, orbital-class New Glenn rocket. This month, Bezos said he\u2019d be spending \u201cjust over a billion dollars\u201d on the New Glenn program the next year.<\/p>\n<p>New Glenn could eventually loom as a competitor for the Vulcan. That scenario was reportedly one of the concerns that emerged during months of negotiations that also focused on price and technical capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>ULA\u2019s \u201cPlan B\u201d was to turn to Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s kerosene-fueled AR1 engine, but that engine was thought to be far behind the BE-4 on its development timeline. In recent weeks it became increasingly clear that Blue Origin held the edge, but there\u2019s a consolation prize: Aerojet\u2019s RL10 engine is to be used on the Vulcan\u2019s Centaur upper stage.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Blue Origin BE-4 Engine Compilation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Nyn2gOimRfM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The BE-4 is currently built at Blue Origin\u2019s headquarters in Kent, Wash., and for more than a year the engines have been undergoing testing at Blue Origin\u2019s facilities in West Texas. The current schedule calls for their use on New Glenn and ULA Vulcan flights in 2020, but that schedule could slip.<\/p>\n<p>Deals already have been struck for New Glenn satellite launches in the 2020s.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin has said that winning ULA\u2019s nod would open the way for the development of a $200 million engine factory in Huntsville, Ala.<\/p>\n<p>The company has moved into a $200 million New Glenn rocket manufacturing facility&nbsp;near Cape Canaveral, Fla., and aims to send up its New Glenn rockets from Launch Complex 36 nearby.<\/p>\n<p>Blue Origin has a separate suborbital space program, known as New Shepard, and is currently conducting uncrewed flight tests of that spaceship in West Texas. There\u2019s also a lunar lander program known as Blue Moon that could eventually win NASA\u2019s support for missions in the 2020s.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Update for 2:05 p.m. PT Sept. 27:<\/strong> This story has been updated with the official announcement from United Launch Alliance.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Blue Origin\u2019s 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\u2019 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4459,509,1046,510,750,4518],"class_list":["post-18345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-be-4-rocket-engine","tag-blue-origin","tag-jeff-bezos","tag-new-glenn","tag-united-launch-alliance","tag-vulcan-rocket"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18345"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18345"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18345\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18345"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18345"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18345"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}