Blue Origin reveals full throttle long duration test of its BE-4 engine
Capitalism in space: Jeff Bezos today revealed that Blue Origin has successfully completed a full throttle long duration test of its BE-4 engine to be used by both its New Glenn Rocket and ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
“Perfect night,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who created the Blue Origin space venture more than two decades ago, wrote in an Instagram post. “Sitting in the back of my pickup truck under the moon and stars, watching another long-duration, full-thrust hot-fire test of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine.”
The post featured a shot of Bezos and other spectators looking on at the rising rocket plume from afar, as well as a video with closer perspectives of the firing.
The company has delivered two engines to ULA designed for ground testing, and says it will deliver soon the flight ready engines for Vulcan’s first launch later this year. Blue Origin also needs to get flight ready engines finished this year for New Glenn, which is also supposed to make it inaugural flight in ’21.
Personally, I think both Blue Origin and ULA are cutting it close. I will not be surprised if this tight schedule means that the first launches of both rockets get delayed into ’22.
Nonetheless, it is great news that the BE-4 appears to finally working as planned after what appeared to be problems for the past few years.
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Capitalism in space: Jeff Bezos today revealed that Blue Origin has successfully completed a full throttle long duration test of its BE-4 engine to be used by both its New Glenn Rocket and ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
“Perfect night,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who created the Blue Origin space venture more than two decades ago, wrote in an Instagram post. “Sitting in the back of my pickup truck under the moon and stars, watching another long-duration, full-thrust hot-fire test of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine.”
The post featured a shot of Bezos and other spectators looking on at the rising rocket plume from afar, as well as a video with closer perspectives of the firing.
The company has delivered two engines to ULA designed for ground testing, and says it will deliver soon the flight ready engines for Vulcan’s first launch later this year. Blue Origin also needs to get flight ready engines finished this year for New Glenn, which is also supposed to make it inaugural flight in ’21.
Personally, I think both Blue Origin and ULA are cutting it close. I will not be surprised if this tight schedule means that the first launches of both rockets get delayed into ’22.
Nonetheless, it is great news that the BE-4 appears to finally working as planned after what appeared to be problems for the past few years.
I must unfortunately ask you for your financial support because I do not depend on ads and rely entirely on the generosity of readers to keep Behind the Black running. You can either make a one time donation for whatever amount you wish, or you sign up for a monthly subscription ranging from $2 to $15 through Paypal or $3 to $50 through Patreon.
Your support will allow me to continue covering science and culture as I have for the past twenty years, independent and free from any outside influence.
Your support is even more essential to me because I not only keep this site free from advertisements, I do not use the corrupt social media companies like Google, Twitter, and Facebook to promote my work. I depend wholly on the direct support of my readers.
You can provide that support to Behind The Black with a contribution via Patreon or PayPal. To use Patreon, go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation. For PayPal click one of the following buttons:
If Patreon or Paypal don't work for you, you can support Behind The Black directly by sending your donation by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman, to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
Or you can donate by using Zelle through your bank. You will need to give my name and email address (found at the bottom of the "About" page). The best part of this electronic option is that no fees will be deducted! What you donate will be what I receive.
Even if New Glenn and Vulcan fly perfectly (not proven yet, especially the recovery part), if they can’t mass-produce the BE-4 they’re not catching up to SpaceX any time soon. Especially if the latter starts mass-producing Raptors and Spaceships alike.
@V-Man – that was my thought… Vulcan needs 2 per flight, at most 10 flights a year. New Glenn will use 5 or 7 on the first stage I think. But reusable so not that many…
How many can they make a year?
SpaceX Is aiming for hundreds of Raptors a year. Good job SpaceX.
I wonder if SpaceX will attempt to ramp up production to 500 or more Raptors / year in-house, or outsource to a company more accustomed to serious mass-production, such as a Japanese automaker. After all, assuming 50 Raptors per SS/SH (with spares) that is only 10 ship-sets per year.
The question might boil down to whether it is possible to keep your design secrets from the Chinese if you outsource… or even if you don’t!
“Sitting in the back of my pickup truck….”
Awe shucks, Jeffie is just a good ol’ boy, one of us, a billionaire of the People, keeping Hope & Change alive in obama’s Amerika.
I think that should be “Aw, shucks”. But Jeff would no doubt prefer “Awe, shucks”.
Bezos has the money to sink into finishing M-1.. a big hydrogen engine. That’s what I want to see.
Ray, SpaceX will not outsource Raptor production. Musk has been very clear that he is designing manufacturing for Raptors at the same time they design Raptor itself. They have also mass-produced Merlin engines at a rate of several hundred a year, and Starlink satellites at 120 per month. SpaceX views outsourcing as risky and as loss of control.
“I’m going to get me a beer…”
Elizabeth Warren
https://youtu.be/pj46A35KD4o
2:36