Delivery of BE-4 Flight Engines for ULA's Vulcan Completed
Blue Origin has completed its delivery of the first BE-4 shipset for United Launch Alliance (ULA), shipping the engines to ULA’s factory in Decatur, AL after final acceptance testing.
“The BE-4 is a great engine, and we’re proud of Team Blue for achieving this milestone as part of ULA’s team. It’s been a wonderful partnership, and this shipset is the first of many more to come.”
Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin.
Each BE-4 engine provides 550,000 pounds of thrust and has completed an extensive development program. This state-of-the-art engine will end reliance on Russian engines and power a new generation of U.S. launch vehicles. Dozens of these engines are now in production to support a large and growing demand for civil, commercial, and defense launches.
“We’re excited to see ULA’s Vulcan fly,” said Bob Smith, CEO, Blue Origin. “The BE-4 is a great engine, and we’re proud of Team Blue for achieving this milestone as part of ULA’s team. It’s been a wonderful partnership, and this shipset is the first of many more to come.”
“We are very pleased to receive the first two engines for Vulcan’s inaugural flight,” said Tory Bruno, ULA president and CEO. “Development of this new engine is complete, and the performance of the engine is outstanding. It has been a great team effort working together with our partners at Blue Origin and we can’t wait to see Vulcan fly.”
BE-4 Engine is Most Powerful in its Class
Blue Origin’s BE-4 is the most powerful liquid natural gas (LNG) fueled, oxygen-rich staged combustion engine made in the U.S., powering the next generation of rocket launch vehicles. The engines are manufactured in Kent, WA and in Huntsville, AL. They are tested in West Texas and at the historic 4670 Test Stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
ULA is progressing to a first flight of the Vulcan Centaur in the 1st quarter 2023 to align with a request from its payload customer Astrobotic, who will be flying its Peregrine lunar lander to the Moon for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.
This commercial mission is part of ULA’s requirement to meet the U.S. Space Force certification of its new launch vehicle.
(Source: Blue Origin news release. Images provided)