Nichols Martin
Blue Origin, an aerospace company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, has shipped a development engine technology to a Decatur, Ala., facility where United Launch Alliance is building the Vulcan Centaur rocket, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
ULA intends to use a pair of BE-4 engines to power the rocket that the Boeing and Lockheed Martin joint venture will launch on a maiden flight scheduled for early 2021.
According to the report, Blue Origin aims to deliver the second BE-4 later this month. The engine is designed to produce 75K horsepower using natural gas propellants and liquid oxygen.
The U.S. Air Force awarded three separate contracts to ULA, Northrop Grumman and Blue Origin in October 2018 to build launch system prototypes for potential use in the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program.
The U.S. Space Force could award two contracts this summer for missions to send national security satellites to space over the 2022-2027 period.
