One of Blue Origin LLC’s next-generation rocket engines caught fire during testing late last month, an issue that could delay its delivery to a key customer.
(Bloomberg) — One of Blue Origin LLC’s next-generation rocket engines caught fire during testing late last month, an issue that could delay its delivery to a key customer.
The incident involved a BE-4 engine and occurred at Blue Origin’s West Texas facility. The Jeff Bezos-backed company didn’t explain what exactly happened, but said there were no injuries and it was narrowing down the cause.
The customer set to receive the engine is a primary launch provider for the US Department of Defense called United Launch Alliance. Its chief executive officer, Tory Bruno, said in a message the BE-4 unit would probably have to be scrapped after the engine “caught fire and was severely damaged.”
Bruno added failures aren’t uncommon in so-called acceptance testing, which Blue Origin must complete to ensure the engine is ready for use. The CEO also suggested on social media the issue could be resolved with a quick fix. However, a severe enough problem could push back delivery timelines.
Blue Origin said it still expects to meet its engine-delivery commitments this year. It also said it has identified a “proximate cause” and is working on remedial actions, without providing further details.
The BE-4 incident was first reported by CNBC. The news site referred to the mishap as an explosion that occurred 10 seconds into the engine test, citing people familiar with the situation.
Vulcan Flights
Blue Origin has been developing the BE-4 for the last decade as a primary engine for the company’s future New Glenn rocket, designed to take satellites — and eventually people — into Earth’s orbit. Blue Origin is also supplying the BE-4 engine to ULA for use in the company’s future Vulcan rocket, which is expected to take its debut flight later this year.
ULA planned to use the BE-4 that experienced the testing issue as one of the two main engines on the Vulcan’s second flight. Blue Origin said that “ULA was immediately made aware” of the issue.
Last year, Blue Origin delivered the engines for the Vulcan’s upcoming debut flight, far later than expected. Those BE-4s have successfully passed acceptance testing and are qualified to fly the mission, according to ULA.
A ULA company spokesperson said last month’s fire doesn’t affect that flight, called Certification-1. The debut Vulcan launch is one of two missions that ULA will perform to certify the vehicle for national security space missions.
Certification-1 will carry two satellites for an Amazon.com Inc. initiative to boost broadband access, called Project Kuiper. It will also carry a lunar lander developed by Astrobotic Technology Inc. and a memorial payload for a company called Celestis Inc.
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