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Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by random5634 on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:23AM (#24917878)
Does the rocket design really reuse these? I keep on hearing they are designed for reuse but even though SpaceX is landing lots of boosters I've yet to see another company landed and reuse an orbital booster. Will they be landing be-4 in 2020 or later?
Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by FrojoS on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:38AM (#24917997)
There are two rockets in the works that plan to use this engine on their booster.

1) One is New Glenn by Blue Origin, which plans to land the booster (incl. the BE-4 engine) from the get go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=532ay25-kmU&ab_channel=Video...

2) The other rocket is ULAs Vulcan, which plans to land the engines without the booster using a parachute and helicopter. However, that plan is on paper only and it won't be implemented yet when Vulcan goes into service. As OPs article states, there isn't even an official timeline. Presumably ULA is waiting for government money to develop the capability. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lftGq6QVFFI&ab_channel=Unite...

Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by MPSimmons on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @09:26AM (#24918463)
I have significant doubts about the launch rate of ULA allowing them to get this working in time. I suspect SpaceX will continue to eat their market share, and when Blue Origin comes along, ULA won't have any whatsoever. Richard Shelby isn't getting younger.
Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by nickik on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @09:32AM (#24918524)
ULA has lots of integration with military and it will take many years before ULA will not be at least the second military launcher.

New Glenn taking that market is pretty unlikely for many years to come.

ULA has always survived on government launches alone. Now they survive on less then half the government launches, but there are more of them.

Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by thinkcontext on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:37AM (#24917985)
ULA's rocket, Vulcan, is supposed to launch next year. The initial version will not be reusable though a concept for a future version is to detach the engines and have them parachute to be recovered.

Blue Origin's rocket, New Glenn, will use the same engine, be bigger than Vulcan and be reusable by landing like Falcon 9. It is supposed to launch in 2022.

Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by yakz on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:30AM (#24917926)
I believe the current plan is to drop them with a parachute: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vulcan_Centaur#SMART_reuse
Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by donor20 on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @09:23AM (#24918418)
Interesting - inflatable heat shield, parachute, mid air helicopter catch. A few moving parts - be interesting to watch these - they claim 90% first stage cost savings.

I remember blue orgin trying to block SpaceX from pad 39A. They even appealed NASA's decision to GAO I think. They were going to be launching orbital mission in 2018 I think with folks on board. Whatever happened to those launch plans? Elon had a pretty memorable quote I think.

"If they do somehow show up in the next 5 years with a vehicle qualified to NASA's human rating standards that can dock with the Space Station, which is what Pad 39A is meant to do, we will gladly accommodate their needs," Musk wrote. "Frankly, I think we are more likely to discover unicorns dancing in the flame duct."

Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues by ceejayoz on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @08:32AM (#24917944)
They suspended those plans.

> Through 2020, ULA has not announced firm plans to fund and build/test this engine-reuse concept, though they stated in late 2019 that they were "still planning to eventually reuse Vulcan’s first-stage engines."