According to reports, the CEO of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) said that he expects to receive two new rocket engines provided by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin company. The United Launch Alliance is a joint venture rocket company jointly established by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
In addition, ULA is also the largest contractor of the Pentagon to provide launch services for national security satellites. ULA initially predicted that the 2020 launch vehicles will make their first flight in early 2021, but the plan was delayed due to development obstacles.
ULA CEO Tory Bruno stated that the installation of Blue Origin’s reusable BE-4 engine in ULA’s next-generation Vulcan rocket will enable it to be launched for the first time at the end of 2021. “Peregrine” lunar lander. At present, the Vulcan rocket has won a series of important US defense missions in 2027.
On Thursday, Bruno told reporters on the phone: “This is our current expectation. Hayabusa will enter space in the fourth quarter of 2021.” In 2018, ULA selected Blue Origin’s BE-4 to power Vulcan. Vulcan is a two-stage high-thrust heavy rocket that will replace ULA’s Atlas 5 main force.
However, due to problems with the engine’s complex single-shaft turbopump, the delivery of Blue Origin’s BE-4 was delayed. The turbopump is a part of the rocket engine and injects flammable propellant into the rocket engine with 80,000 horsepower during ignition.
