Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues
by jjoonathan on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @09:56AM
(#24918743)
Well, they were reusable when they flew in the shuttles, before SLS decided to discard them in the Atlantic.
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Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues
by mattashii on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @10:44AM
(#24919277)
Correct, but the RS-25 that are newly ordered from Aerojet Rocketdyne will not be reusable (not built to be reused).
Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues
by V_Terranova_Jr on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @05:14PM
(#24924223)
Anyone that wants to order a reusable RS-25 can have Aerojet Rocketdyne configure and manufacture it that way. See also the AR-22 variant used on the ill-fated DARPA XSP program.
The real issue with that engine isn't its reusability, it's that the industry has learned a lot about rocket engine design, operation, and manufacturing since the RS-25 was developed. That's reflected in the engines available from the likes of Blue Origin and SpaceX. No knock on the RS-25 - it stands as a watershed achievement for humanity in the engineering of thermodynamic systems.
Though calling the SpaceX engines "available" needs the caveat that SpaceX will not make them available outside of SpaceX.
Re:Blue Origin BE-4 engines sorts out turbopump issues
by jjoonathan on Wednesday October 28, 2020 @01:02PM
(#24921212)
Weren't some of them refurbs? As in, shuttle hardware that was designed to be reusable and was reused is now planned to be unceremoniously dumped in the ocean?
In any case, even if the discardables are all new, it's a shameful step back. I am so glad they have competition now.