Blue Origin and the Air Force Research Laboratory\u2019s Rocket and Space Propulsion Division have signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement giving the company access to advanced propulsion hardware, engineering data and technical artifacts developed under two historic U.S. Air Force rocket engine programs. The material from the Hydrocarbon Boost and Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator programs will support Blue Origin\u2019s research into next-generation commercial propulsion technologies.<\/p>\n
The agreement expands an existing relationship between Blue Origin and AFRL at Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the organizations are also testing the company\u2019s BE-7 lunar lander engine.<\/p>\n
The Hydrocarbon Boost, or HCB, program and the Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator, or IPD, program were established to advance high-performance liquid rocket propulsion in the United States. The programs investigated technologies including oxygen-rich staged combustion and full-flow staged combustion, two engine cycles designed to extract more energy from propellants than simpler open-cycle architectures.<\/p>\n
In an oxygen-rich staged-combustion engine, a preburner operates with excess oxidizer and routes its hot gas through a turbine before the gas enters the main combustion chamber. Full-flow staged combustion uses separate fuel-rich and oxygen-rich preburners to drive the fuel and oxidizer turbopumps, with both propellant streams ultimately passing through the preburners before reaching the main chamber.<\/p>\n
These architectures can support high chamber pressures and greater performance but impose demanding requirements on turbomachinery, materials, seals, combustion stability and thermal management. Oxygen-rich hot gas is particularly challenging because it can react aggressively with engine materials at elevated temperatures and pressures.<\/p>\n
Under the CRADA, Blue Origin engineers will examine the government-developed hardware and associated technical information to inform the company\u2019s propulsion models and future development work. Blue Origin did not identify a specific engine program that will incorporate the research or disclose a schedule for transferring the artifacts.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudying these historic and technical artifacts grounds our engineering models in real government research,\u201d said Nicholas Robertson, Blue Origin\u2019s senior vice president of engines. He said the agreement broadens the company\u2019s existing partnership with AFRL.<\/p>\n
A CRADA allows a federal laboratory and a nonfederal organization to collaborate by contributing personnel, facilities, equipment, expertise or other resources. The arrangement is distinct from a conventional procurement contract: its purpose is to move government-funded research into practical development while enabling the laboratory to work with an outside partner.<\/p>\n
For Blue Origin, the AFRL material provides access to physical evidence and engineering lessons from earlier U.S. investments in advanced combustion cycles. Historic test hardware can help engineers compare analytical and computational models with components that were manufactured and tested under real operating conditions. It can also preserve information about design choices, material performance and development problems that may not be fully represented in archived reports.<\/p>\n
The new propulsion hardware agreement builds on continuing work between Blue Origin and AFRL involving the BE-7, a lunar lander engine designed for high efficiency and deep throttling.<\/p>\n
BE-7 testing is taking place at the Area 1-42 High Altitude Rocket Test Facility at AFRL Edwards, including operations at Test Stand 1-42A. The facility can reproduce atmospheric pressure conditions equivalent to an altitude of approximately 80,000 feet, allowing engineers to evaluate engine behavior in a low-pressure environment more representative of upper-atmosphere or space operations than a conventional sea-level test stand.<\/p>\n
The BE-7 uses a dual-expander cycle, in which heat absorbed while cooling the engine is used to gasify propellants and drive its turbomachinery. The architecture differs from the staged-combustion technologies associated with the HCB and IPD artifacts. Its high specific impulse and deep-throttling capability are intended to support controlled lunar descent, landing and ascent operations while carrying substantial payloads.<\/p>\n
Blue Origin has developed the engine for its Blue Moon lunar lander family. Continued testing at AFRL provides access to a specialized national facility capable of supporting propulsion development under simulated high-altitude conditions.<\/p>\n
Dr. Javier Urzay, chief of AFRL\u2019s Rocket and Space Propulsion Division, said the organization develops high-risk, high-payoff propulsion technologies for rockets, missiles and spacecraft in support of U.S. national security. He said transferring the HCB and IPD material through the partnership would extend the value of previous government science and technology investments and help maintain U.S. capabilities in space propulsion.<\/p>\n
The announcement did not specify financial terms, identify the individual components being transferred or name a first development milestone tied to Blue Origin\u2019s examination of the hardware. BE-7 testing at AFRL Edwards remains underway.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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