ULA selects Blue Origin's BE-4 Engine to power Vulcan
The liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled booster will be powered by a pair of BE-4 engines, each producing 550,000 pounds of sea level thrust.
.png;width=70;height=70;mode=crop;format=webp)
United Launch Alliance’s (ULA, Centennial, CO, US) announced on Sept. 27 it has selected Blue Origin’s (Kent, WA, US) BE-4 engine for Vulcan Centaur’s booster stage. The liquefied natural gas (LNG) fueled booster will be powered by a pair of BE-4 engines, each producing 550,000 pounds of sea level thrust.
As previously announced, ULA has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne’s (Sacramento, CA, US) RL10 engine for the Centaur upper stage, Northrop Grumman (Falls Church, VA, US) solid rocket boosters, L‑3 Avionics Systems (Grand Rapids, MI, US) avionics, and RUAG’s (Bern, Switzerland) payload fairings and composite structures for the new Vulcan Centaur rocket system.
According to ULA, the next-generation rocket is making strong progress in development and is on track for its initial flight in mid-2020. It will have a maximum liftoff thrust of 3.8 million pounds and carry 56,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, 33,000 pounds to a geo-transfer orbit and 16,000 pounds to geostationary orbit with greater capability than any currently available single-core launch vehicle.
Related Content
-
Forvia brand Faurecia exhibits XL CGH2 tank, cryogenic LH2 storage solution for heavy-duty trucks
Part of its full hydrogen solutions portfolio at IAA Transportation 2022, Faurecia also highlighted sustainable thermoplastic tanks and smart tanks for better safety via structural integrity monitoring.
-
Plant tour: ÉireComposites, Galway, Ireland
An in-house testing business and R&D focus has led to innovative materials use and projects in a range of markets, from civil aerospace to renewable energy to marine.
-
Recycling end-of-life composite parts: New methods, markets
From infrastructure solutions to consumer products, Polish recycler Anmet and Netherlands-based researchers are developing new methods for repurposing wind turbine blades and other composite parts.
