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LOX/methane BE-4 fires OK!
Hello All,
Blue Origin's large BE-4 LOX/methane (LNG) rocket engine has been successfully fired in its first static test (see: http://spaceflightnow.com/2017/10/2...by-blue-origin/ )--a video of the test run is in the article, and its exhaust plume *does* look different from those of kerosene- and hydrogen-fueled rockets (so do the still pix here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtLG4n764LQ ). The reusable powerplant can produce up to 550,000 pounds of thrust at sea level, making it the largest methane-fueled rocket engine ever built, and: The brief, six-second test run was limited to 50% thrust, which was prudent considering the engine's size, as a "hard start" (explosion) would likely have completely destroyed it. The fact that it uses a staged-combustion cycle, with a "hot oxidizer" side (like the Atlas V's Russian-built RD-180 LOX/kerosene engine) also made a quick, gentle first firing wise, because in May a set of BE-4 powerpack hardware was lost in a test mishap. Also: If memory serves, the first firing of a complete Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME)--a staged-combustion LOX/liquid hydrogen engine--didn't go well. (Like Frank Whittle's WU [Whittle Unit] First Model, the first turbojet engine, the first SSME was tested as a complete engine without first having its components tested separately, due to budget limitations). Eight BE-4s will power Blue Origin's New Glenn vehicle (seven in its [ultimately reusable] first stage, one in its second stage), while two may power ULA's Vulcan rocket, in a recoverable engine module (ULA hasn't yet decided between the BE-4 and Aerojet Rocketdyne's yet-to-be-fired AR1 kerosene-fueled engine, although yesterday's successful first BE-4 test bodes well for its future "partnership" with Vulcan).
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