LOL
What about Blue Origin, and the fantastical BE-4 motor?
BO has a recently expanded rocket engine factory near where I live. I can see their building from where I work. They’re seriously working to increase production of the BE-4. There are several Vulcan flights on ULA’s launch manifest and each requires two BE-4 engines. They are not recoverable, although ULA is looking into ways to recover the engines. If they go through with it, that likely won’t happen for a few years. BO wants to build multiple New Glenn boosters. Each NG first stage needs 7 BE-4 engines. I’m skeptical they’ll be successful on recovering the NG first stage on the first (few) attempts, but maybe I’m wrong.
The key to making any of these things happen is building the BE-4 engines and getting them through the testing process so they can be delivered for launch. No one knows how many BE-4 engines they’ll be able to deliver in the next year, but an awful lot is riding on it.
I’ll say now what I said when the usual suspects were calling Falcon 9 a “paper rocket.” It’s a real rocket when it flies away into the sky with fire coming out of its ass. Until then, Vulcan and New Glenn are paper rockets. December? We’ll see. If it gets through staging, that’s good enough.
Bezos is disappointing. That might not change regardless of whether or not BE-4 flies.
LOL
What about Blue Origin, and the fantastical BE-4 motor?
BO has a recently expanded rocket engine factory near where I live. I can see their building from where I work. They’re seriously working to increase production of the BE-4. There are several Vulcan flights on ULA’s launch manifest and each requires two BE-4 engines. They are not recoverable, although ULA is looking into ways to recover the engines. If they go through with it, that likely won’t happen for a few years. BO wants to build multiple New Glenn boosters. Each NG first stage needs 7 BE-4 engines. I’m skeptical they’ll be successful on recovering the NG first stage on the first (few) attempts, but maybe I’m wrong.
The key to making any of these things happen is building the BE-4 engines and getting them through the testing process so they can be delivered for launch. No one knows how many BE-4 engines they’ll be able to deliver in the next year, but an awful lot is riding on it.
I’ll say now what I said when the usual suspects were calling Falcon 9 a “paper rocket.” It’s a real rocket when it flies away into the sky with fire coming out of its ass. Until then, Vulcan and New Glenn are paper rockets. December? We’ll see. If it gets through staging, that’s good enough.
Bezos is disappointing. That might not change regardless of whether or not BE-4 flies.