Blue Origin

Автор Димитър, 05.01.2007 12:05:50

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ronatu

#380
ЦитироватьCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — At least one other company is competing against Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) to take over a decommissioned space shuttle launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here.
Privately owned Blue Origin of Kent, Washington, also responded to a NASA solicitation for proposals for Launch Pad 39A, company president Rob Meyerson told SpaceNews July 16.

Полностью здесь
http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/36274blue-origin-bids-for-shuttle-launch-pad#.UeXRP1POllk
Когда жизнь экзаменует - первыми сдают нервы.

Apollo13

http://www.spacenews.com/article/civil-space/42584nasa-extends-commercial-crew-agreement-with-blue-origin

ЦитироватьOne milestone covers an in-flight test of a "pusher" escape system, where rocket engines at the base of the vehicle would push the spacecraft away from its launch vehicle in the event of an abort. Under the CCDev2 milestone, NASA personnel would review data and video from the test, which would use an unspecified subscale booster.

A second milestone involves a flight test of Blue Origin's BE-3 rocket engine, a liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine that the company has tested on the ground in earlier milestones. That flight would test the engine on a "representative suborbital mission," which NASA personnel would be invited to observe.

The third milestone involves a flight test of a subscale propellant tank, also on a representative suborbital mission. The assembly review for that tank was a milestone in a prior unfunded extension of Blue Origin's CCDev2 agreement.

The extension states that the BE-3 and propellant tank milestones would be achieved by September 2015, while the pusher escape system test milestone is scheduled for March 2016. The overall agreement now expires April 17, 2016.

Летные испытания BE-3 и топливных баков планируется провести в сентябре 2015. САС в марте 2016.

Apollo13

Blue Origin Completes BE-3 Engine as BE-4 Work Continues

http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-completes-be-3-engine-as-be-4-work-continues/

ЦитироватьBlue Origin has completed testing of one engine it is developing for its own suborbital vehicle as it continues work on a second, much larger engine for United Launch Alliance's new orbital launch vehicle, the company announced April 7.

The company said it had recently completed acceptance testing of the BE-3 engine after several years of work, allowing the company to move forward with test flights of its New Shepard vehicle later this year fr om its test site in West Texas. Those flight tests will ultimately lead to commercial suborbital flights later this decade.

"The acceptance testing came at the tail end of a very, very long development program," Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson said in an April 7 teleconference with reporters. That included 450 tests of the engine, with a cumulative running time of more than 500 minutes.

BE-3 uses liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, which the company said makes it the first engine with that propellant combination developed in the United States in more than a decade. The engine can generate up to 110,000 pounds of thrust, but can be throttled down to 20,000 pounds. Such "deep throttling" is useful for vehicles that, like New Shepard, plan to take off and land vertically.


Blue Origin designed the BE-3 specifically for its New Shepard vehicle. "When we started Blue, we were unable to find the propulsion that we needed at an affordable price, so we decided to develop our own," Meyerson said. The company first worked on other engines, including some that used hydrogen peroxide and kerosene propellants, before moving on to the BE-3.

With the BE-3 completed, Meyerson said that Blue Origin was ready to begin test flights of the New Shepard suborbital vehicle later this year, also at its Texas test site. "We expect a series of dozens of flights over the extent of the test program," he said. "We expect, over the next couple of years, to be flying regularly with the New Shepard vehicle."

Those flights will be flown autonomously, without a crew on the vehicle. Ultimately, the company plans to use New Shepard to fly people, either for tourism or on research missions. Meyerson said the vehicle will be able to accommodate three or more people, depending on the vehicle's payload of experiments, on flights to altitudes of at least 100 kilometers.

Meyerson declined to give a specific schedule for beginning commercial service, other than it was still years away. "We're probably a few years away from selling tickets," he said. "We're getting close, and we're excited about wh ere we are."

He added that while Blue Origin developed the BE-3 for its own vehicle, it is making the engine available commercially as well. The company is working on a version of the engine, designated BE-3U, for use in upper stages, including a future orbital launch vehicle in the company's long-term plans.

As Blue Origin wraps up development of the BE-3, it is also developing the BE-4 engine for ULA's next-generation launch vehicle. That engine, powered by liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen propellants, will generate five times the maximum thrust of the BE-3.

Like many other Blue Origin activities, work on the BE-4 has been shrouded in secrecy since its announcement in September 2014. Meyerson said the company was working on two BE-4 development programs in parallel, one testing a set of valves and pumps called the powerpack, and the other testing subscale versions of the engine's injectors.

Meyerson did not go into details of the status of those efforts, but did state that tests of the powerpack started last fall, with another round of tests scheduled to start April 9. Injector tests have been taking place "on and off" for the last six to eight months, he said.

"We are actively in testing on the BE-4, we're learning from that testing, and continuing with an aggressive test program," he said. Meyerson said the company is on schedule to start full-scale engine tests in late 2016 and complete development of the engine in 2017.

That development schedule, Meyerson argued, means the BE-4 will be available to ULA "two to three years ahead of any alternative engine out there." Meyerson did not name those alternatives, but Aerojet Rocketdyne is working on a large engine called the AR-1 that uses kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants that, like the BE-4, has been proposed as a replacement for the Russian-manufactured RD-180 on ULA's Atlas 5 vehicle.

Meyerson claimed that, despite the company's secretive reputation, it was more open about its activities in recent years. Nonetheless, he said that initial test flights of New Shepard, at the company's remote test site approximately 200 kilometers east of El Paso, Texas, would be closed to media and the public. "As we get more experience with the vehicle, there's going to be many opportunities to have people there real-time to watch," he offered.


Salo

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/commercial/blue-origins-be-3-completes-acceptance-testing-in-lead-up-to-new-shepard-flights/
ЦитироватьBlue Origin's BE-3 completes acceptance testing in lead up to New Shepard flights      

Blue Origin's BE-3 engine throttles to its maximum 110,000-lbf thrust during acceptance testing at the company's dedicated facility in West Texas. Photo Credit: Blue Origin         
             
Jason Rhian
April 7th, 2015          
                                 
On Tuesday, April 7, Blue Origin announced that the Kent, Washington-based firm has completed acceptance testing of Blue Origin's BE-3 rocket engine. The engine has now been cleared for suborbital flights and is planned for use on the firm's New Shepard launch vehicle system. New Shepard is scheduled to carry out suborbital test flights later this year. This milestone marks a turning point for the company, whose efforts have caught the eye of some prominent players within the aerospace industry.
"The BE-3 will gain extensive flight heritage on our New Shepard suborbital system prior to entering service on vehicles carrying humans to low-Earth orbit," said Blue Origin's President Rob Meyerson.  "Given its high-performance, low cost, and reusability, the BE-3 is well suited for boost, upper-stage, and in-space applications on both government and commercial launch systems."
The BE-3 has the ability to be throttled between 110,000-lbf and 20,000-lbf of thrust which the company views as an important aspect in terms of the vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) capabilities of the New Shepard. Initially the BE-3 will be used on Blue Origin's suborbital systems with plans to modify the engine for upper stage use.
https://youtu.be/osEMzfj1Yd8
Video courtesy of NASAexplore

Based on what Blue Origin has described as a "tap-off" design, the BE-3′s turbopumps are powered by main chamber combustion gases – a feature that the company feels makes the engine particularly well suited for crewed spacecraft – such as the New Shepard. The features that make this type of engine attractive for this purpose are its single combustion chamber and shutdown mode.
This is just one among many tests that the rocket engine has undergone. Prior to this latest series of tests, the BE-3′s thrust chamber underwent testing via an agreement with NASA under the space agency's Commercial Crew Program, which is being carried out to provide access to the International Space Station via commercially-provided spacecraft and launch vehicles. Meyerson noted that his company had three more milestones to complete under the second phase of the Commercial Crew Development  portion of NASA's initiative.
"The BE-3 is reusable, restartable, and deep throttling, and it is offered at a low cost; it accumulated over 30 thousand seconds of firing time over a series of 450 tests," Meyerson said. "Our next engine, the BE-4, offers the fastest path to production for a new booster engine for United Launch Alliance – for its new launch system, the NGLS, which will have its new name announced on Monday."
https://youtu.be/8iYLT0q4w20
Video courtesy of Blue Origin

The testing profile that the BE-3 was placed under included multiple mission duty cycles, deep throttling, and off-nominal test points. The engine is designed and constructed at the aerospace company's design, development, and production facilities located in Kent, Wash. While constructed in the northwest, the engine was tested in West Texas with combustion chamber testing being carried out at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. All of these reviews are in preparation for the rocket engine to be used on the New Shepard. As noted, the spacecraft's suborbital flight could be relatively soon.
"We're not releasing the flight date yet, but it will be later this year; the acceptance testing was the really big hurdle that we had to get over," Meyerson said.
Blue Origin has described the BE-3 as the first, new liquid hydrogen-fueled rocket engine to be developed since the RS-68 (which was developed more than a decade ago). As denoted by its nomenclature, the BE-3 is the third engine developed by Blue Origin. Meyerson noted that the company tested its first rocket engine in 2005, with the second engine undergoing testing in 2007.
https://youtu.be/DRbXwIWw_98
Video courtesy of Blue Origin

"The BE-3 has now been fired for more than 30,000 seconds over the course of 450 tests," said Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin's founder via a press release. "We test, learn, refine, and then test again to push our engines. The Blue Origin team did an outstanding job exploring the corners of what the BE-3 can do and soon we'll put it to the ultimate test of flight."
According to Meyerson, the testing performed on the BE-3 required more than 3.3 million US gallons (12.5 megalitres) of liquid hydrogen, or five Olympic swimming pools worth of the propellant. Blue Origin's founder went on to note the difficulties in utilizing this propellant in conjunction with the BE-3′s systems.
"Liquid hydrogen is challenging, deep throttling is challenging, and reusability is challenging," said Bezos. "This engine has all three. The rewards are highest performance, vertical landing even with a single-engine vehicle and low cost. And, as a future upper stage engine, hydrogen greatly increases payload capabilities."
https://youtu.be/5l8aQ3hQyVs
Video courtesy of Blue Origin

United Launch Alliance (ULA ) has tapped Blue Origin's BE-4 as their primary choice in terms of rocket engines to power the Colorado-based firm's new Next Generation Launch System (NGLS) booster to orbit. According to Meyerson, ULA went so far as to design the new booster's first stage around the engine's configuration. Meyerson noted that the BE-4 is currently undergoing pre-burner and main injector testing, placing the rocket engine on track to undergo full engine testing in 2016, with complete development of the engine slated to take place in the following year.
According to Blue Origin, the typical flight of the New Shepard spacecraft should last somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes. Customers that fly on the spacecraft would undergo a period of training and familiarization. They in turn would get to experience powered flight, about four minutes of weightlessness, have the ability to view the Earth – before landing via New Shepard's crew capsule under parachutes.
The company's efforts have run the gamut since being formed in September of 2000. Meyerson noted the progress his company has made since that time, as well as what can be expected for the first flights of the New Shepard spacecraft.
"When we started Blue, we were unable to find the propulsion that we needed at an affordable price – so we decided to develop our own, and we've developed our own team, our own facilities, and our own engines," Meyerson said. "We're going to fly dozens of test flights of New Shepard without people on board before we put our test pilots on board."
"Были когда-то и мы рысаками!!!"

Garixon

http://astronews.ru/cgi-bin/mng.cgi?page=news&news=7132

ЦитироватьЧастная космическая компания Blue Origin, созданная основателем Amazon Джеффом Безосом, уже в этом году готовится начать суборбитальные летные испытания инновационного космического корабля. В недавнем времени компания закончила работу над двигателем.
Вчера, 7 апреля, Роб Майерсон, президент Blue Origin, рассказал журналистам о том, что позднее в этом году компания проведет беспилотные суборбитальные испытания своего нового корабля New Shepard. Цель испытаний заключается в том, чтобы проверить работоспособность и возможность повторного использования ракетного двигателя BE-3,.
«Пока мы не готовы озвучить точную дату запуска, но он произойдет совсем скоро», - заявил Майерсон в ходе телеконференции.
Космический летательный аппарат New Shepard рассчитан на осуществление вертикальных взлетов и посадок. По словам представителей компании-разработчика, New Shepard будет способен осуществлять полёты на высоте около 100 км. Аппарат будет вмещать до 3-ех человек.
Компания Blue Origin надеется, что введение в эксплуатацию аппарата New Shepard станет значимым шагом в развитии космического туризма. Хотя, по словам Майерсона, первая обзорная экскурсия в суборбитальный космос на корабле New Shepard вряд ли состоится в ближайшие несколько лет. Запуску будут предшествовать тщательные тесты как космического корабля, так и двигателя.
По мере того как компания продолжает работать над двигателем BE-3 и аппаратом New Shepard, она также продвигается вперед в создании следующей ракетного двигателя BE-4.
Джефф Безос презентовал ракетный двигатель BE-4 в сентябре прошлого года. В тот же день было объявлено о партнерстве между Blue Origin и американской компанией United Launch Alliance (ULA). Blue Origin разрабатывает новый двигатель BE-4 для ракетоносителя нового поколения от компании ULA. По словам Майерсона, испытания ракетного двигателя BE-4 должны начаться в 2016 году и завершиться к 2017 году.

Димитър

Blue Origin может стать главним поставщиком двигателей для ULA! Ничего себе!

Apollo13

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
Blue Origin может стать главним поставщиком двигателей для ULA! Ничего себе!
Доброе утро!

Димитър

И что будет в таком случае с Рокетдайн?

Apollo13

ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
И что будет в таком случае с Рокетдайн?
Его и так уже Аэроджет скушал.

Антон

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:
ЦитироватьДимитър пишет:
И что будет в таком случае с Рокетдайн?
Его и так уже Аэроджет скушал.
ОК, что тогда будет с Рокетдайн-Аэроджет?
Только НАСА и остается, ну еще может поспорят с АТК-Орбитал за поставку ТТУ для новой ракеты 

frigate

Первоисточник от FAA 

ЦитироватьFinal Supplemental Environmental Assessment for the Blue Origin West Texas Launch Site February 2014, page 4-5

2.1.1 RLV Launches
Blue Origin is engaged in a long-term RLV development program, and contemplates launching
vehicles of various sizes and configurations. Vehicles may include experimental configurations,
prototypes, and commercial launches. The specific size and configuration is expected to change
as flight test results are received. In general, the various sizes and configurations of development
and commercial RLVs launched would be similar to the vehicle described in the 2006 EA. For
example, the RLV would consist of a propulsion module (PM) and a crew capsule (CC) (see
Exhibit 2-1). Different propulsion modules may be flown with different crew capsules, and there
may be flights that would consist only of the propulsion module or only of the CC. This
Supplemental EA does not attempt to assess detailed information on each prototype,
configuration and/or combination of PM and CC, but rather uses the largest contemplated vehicle
configuration as the basis for assessing environmental impact.
Propulsion modules are expected to stand between 45 and 75 feet high and weigh between
20,000 and 30,000 pounds, carrying between 30,000 and 45,000 pounds of LOx and between
7,000 and 15,000 pounds of LH2. A propulsion module would use one or more engines that
would produce a total thrust of up to approximately 300,000 pounds-force.
CCs are expected to stand between 8 and 20 feet high and would weigh between 8,000 and
12,000 pounds (see Exhibit 2-2). A CC would carry between 600 and 650 pounds of hydroxylterminated
polybutadiene (HTPB), a solid propellant. A CC would use one or more solid rocket
motors that would produce a total thrust of up to approximately 120,000 pounds-force.
Exhibit 2-3 presents the primary differences between the RLVs assessed in the 2006 EA and the
RLVs analyzed in this EA

"Селена, луна. Селенгинск, старинный город в Сибири: город лунных ракет." Владимир Набоков

Apollo13

#391
Полеты New Shepard начнутся в течение нескольких недель.

http://spacenews.com/blue-origin-to-begin-test-flights-within-weeks/

ЦитироватьWASHINGTON — Blue Origin, the commercial spaceflight company backed by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, will soon start flight tests of its New Shepard suborbital vehicle, a Federal Aviation Administration official said April 21.

George Nield, FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation, said at a meeting of the National Research Council's Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board here April 21 that he expected Blue Origin to begin test flights in a "couple of weeks."
"They'll be flying their reusable launch vehicle in the next couple of weeks. Watch the news for that," Nield said. He did not provide additional details about those test plans, but praised the company's "really professional, first-class organization."
Blue Origin already possesses an experimental permit from the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation that would allow it to carry out test flights. The permit was originally issued by the FAA in February 2014 and revised this February.
The permit covers "an unlimited number of flights of the New Shepard System" from Blue Origin's test site in West Texas, approximately 200 kilometers east of El Paso. A copy of the permit posted on the FAA website offers no technical details about the vehicle other than it has separate propulsion and crew modules, which the company has previously disclosed.
Blue Origin declined to comment on the specific schedule provided by Nield. "We recently completed BE-3 acceptance testing and are working toward RLV flights later this year," company spokeswoman Jessica Pieczonka said in an April 21 email.

Blue Origin announced April 7 that it had completed testing of the BE-3 engine that the company will use on New Shepard. That engine, using liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants, can generate between 20,000 and 110,000 pounds-force of thrust, allowing it to support both vertical takeoffs and landings of the vehicle.
In a media teleconference with reporters April 7, Blue Origin President Rob Meyerson said New Shepard test flights would begin later this year, but did not offer a specific timeframe. Those test flights would initially be likely on a monthly basis, he said.
"We expect a series of dozens of flights over the extent of the test program," Meyerson said. "We expect, over the next couple of years, to be flying regularly with the New Shepard vehicle."


Антон

Активно они вернулись в 2015 году

Apollo13

Первый полет New Shepard

https://www.blueorigin.com/news/blog/first-developmental-test-flight-of-new-shepard

ЦитироватьFIRST DEVELOPMENTAL TEST FLIGHT OF NEW SHEPARD

Today we flew the first developmental test flight of our New  Shepard space vehicle. Our 110,000-lbf thrust liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygen BE-3 engine worked flawlessly, powering New Shepard through Mach 3 to its planned test altitude of 307,000 feet. Guidance, navigation and control was nominal throughout max Q and all of ascent. The in-space separation of the crew capsule from the propulsion module was perfect. Any astronauts on board would have had a very nice journey into space and a smooth return.
In fact, if New Shepard had been a traditional expendable vehicle, this would have been a flawless first test flight. Of course one of our goals is reusability, and unfortunately we didn't get to recover the propulsion module because we lost pressure in our hydraulic system on descent. Fortunately, we've already been in work for some time on an improved hydraulic system. Also, assembly of propulsion module serial numbers 2 and 3 is already underway – we'll be ready to fly again soon.
We continue to be big fans of the vertical takeoff, vertical landing architecture. We chose VTVL because it's scalable to very large size. We're already designing New  Shepard's sibling, her Very Big Brother – an orbital launch vehicle that is many times New Shepard's size and is powered by our 550,000-lbf thrust liquefied natural gas, liquid oxygen BE-4 engine.
We've posted images and videos for your enjoyment. Can't wait to fly again – Gradatim Ferociter!
Jeff Bezos

Фото и видео

 https://www.blueorigin.com/news/multimedia/images-and-videos-from-our-first-flight

che wi

#394

Apollo13

Посадка "двигательного модуля" (может кто-то переведет лучше?) не удалась из за потери давления в гидравлической системе. Идет работа над улучшенной гидравлической системой. Также идет сборка "двигательных модулей" №2 и №3. Возвращение к полетам "скоро".

che wi

ЦитироватьApollo13 пишет:
 "двигательного модуля" (может кто-то переведет лучше?)
На картинке из этого поста указан как двигательный отсек.
Можно, наверное, и "ракета-носитель" (соотв-но отсек для экипажа – "корабль") :)


Paleopulo

Они, что почти на 93 км подскочили? И с мягкой посадкой? С первого раза? И еще жалуются, что первую ступень (как еще её назвать, если она одна) не смогли посадить? Да. Как-то все это контрастом смотрится...

ilan

Думаю, что вполне могут забрать себе всех клиентов VG, особенно после аварии с SH2.
Жалко что не получилось спасение ступени. Достаточно интересное решение кольцевого стабилизатора, используемого при снижении первой ступени в атмосфере. При взлете он выполняет функцию переходника. Да и водородно-кислородный двигатель...
Молодцы.!

Искандер

Круто. Идут своим путем, без пыли и шума.
Aures habent et non audient, oculos habent et non videbunt