BE-3 Cryogenic Engine Image Credit:Blue Origin United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Blue Origin have entered into an agreement to jointly f...
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| BE-3 Cryogenic Engine Image Credit:Blue Origin |
The ULA/Blue Origin agreement allows for a four-year development process with full-scale testing in 2016 and first flight in 2019. The BE-4 will be used by ULA and Blue Origin for their respective next generation launch systems.
The BE-4 is a liquid oxygen, liquified natural gas (LNG) cryogenic rocket engine that delivers 550,000-lbf of thrust at sea level. Two BE-4s will power each ULA booster, providing 1,100,000-lbf thrust at liftoff. Development of the BE-4 engine has been underway for nearly three years and testing of BE-4 components is ongoing at Blue Origin's test facilities in West Texas.
Blue Origin recently commissioned a new large test facility for the BE-4 to support full engine testing.
