Wed, Sep 14, 2016
Reusable, Vertical-Landing Booster Will Generate 3.85 Million Pounds Of Thrust
Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos has unveiled plans for his next space launch system, and it's no bottle rocket to be sure.
Named in honor of John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is 23 feet in diameter and lifts off with 3.85 million pounds of thrust from seven BE-4 engines. Burning liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen, these are the same BE-4 engines that will power United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket.
The 2-stage New Glenn is 270 feet tall, and its second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized BE-4 engine. The 3-stage New Glenn is 313 feet tall. A single vacuum-optimized BE-3 engine, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, powers its third stage. The booster and the second stage are identical in both variants.
"Building, flying, landing, and re-flying New Shepard has taught us so much about how to design for practical, operable reusability. And New Glenn incorporates all of those learnings," Bezos said in an email introducing his new rocket.
"We plan to fly New Glenn for the first time before the end of this decade from historic Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, Florida. New Glenn is designed to launch commercial satellites and to fly humans into space. The 3-stage variant – with its high specific impulse hydrogen upper stage – is capable of flying demanding beyond-LEO missions," he said.
Bezos said that the company's vision is millions of people living and working in space, and New Glenn is a very important step. But this will not be Blue Origin's penulitmate rocket. "Up next on our drawing board: New Armstrong. But that’s a story for the future," Bezos said.
(Image provided by Blue Origin)
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