Company Says It Will End U.S. Dependence On Russian-Made RD-180 Engine

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos made a series of Tweets Monday giving his followers a sneak peek at the company's new BE-4 rocket engine, which Blue Origin says will end U.S. dependence on the Russian-made RD-180 engine for national security launches and could one day boost spacecraft on their way to the moon.

GeekWire reports that Bezos is expected to give an update on his vision for commercial space missions on Wednesday at the Satellite 2017 conference in Washington, D.C.

In the Tweets, Bezos shows off the first BE-4 engine fully assembled. "2nd and 3rd following close behind," he said.

The engine will likely be shipped to the company's test range in west Texas for hot-fire testing. The goal is qualification later this year for use in ULA's next generation of Vulcan rockets, as well as powering Blue Origin's New Glenn rockets. Production of the New Glenn is expected to begin next year at Blue Origin's new facility in Florida.

FMI: BE-4 Engine