Vulcan

Boeing and Lockheed Martin’s joint venture United Launch Alliance (ULA) has signed a deal with Blue Origin to accelerate development of BE-4 engine for Vulcan, a next-generation launch system.

The engine programme is on-track to qualify for first flight in 2017, and support the Vulcan flight in 2019, ULA said.

ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno said: "This agreement gets us closer to having an affordable, domestic and innovative engine that will help the Vulcan rocket exceed the capability of the Atlas V on its first flight, and open brand new opportunities for the nation’s use of space.

"This partnership enables each company to leverage its strengths, with ULA bringing production excellence and mission assurance, and Blue Origin bringing innovative engineering concepts and a commitment to lowering the cost of spaceflight."

Blue Origin is conducting testing of the BE-4 components at its facilities in West Texas, US.

"This new agreement is an important step toward building BE-4s at the production rate needed for the Vulcan launch vehicle."

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos said: "This new agreement is an important step toward building BE-4s at the production rate needed for the Vulcan launch vehicle.

"The BE-4 engine test programme is well underway with more than 60 staged-combustion tests already on the books."

Said to offer an alternative to the Russian RD-180, the BE-4 uses liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas (LNG), and delivers a thrust of 550,000lb at sea level.

Each ULA Vulcan booster will be powered by two engines, to provide a thrust of 1,100,000lb at lift-off.

ULA unveiled the Vulcan reusable launcher in April. The rocket adapts features of Atlas and Delta vehicles, and will support missions from low-Earth orbit to Pluto.

Vulcan is said to make future launch services affordable and accessible.

Image: An artist’s impression of Vulcan rocket blasting off from the launch pad. Photo: courtesy of United Launch Alliance, LLC.