BE-4
| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Predecessor | BE-3 |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | liquid oxygen / liquid methane |
| Cycle | single-shaft oxygen-rich staged combustion |
| under development | |
| Performance | |
| Thrust | 2,400 kN (550,000 lbf) |
| Chamber pressure | 13,400 kPa (1,950 psi) |
| Used in | |
|
Vulcan New Glenn |
|
The Blue Engine 4, or BE-4 is a staged-combustion rocket engine under development by Blue Origin. The BE-4 is being developed with private funding, "without any government assistance". The engine has been designed to produce 2,400 kilonewtons (550,000 lbf) of thrust. Both first-stage and second-stage versions of the engine are planned. First flight is expected no earlier than 2019.
Although it was initially planned to be used exclusively on a Blue Origin proprietary launch vehicle, it is currently planned that the engine will also be used on the United Launch Alliance Vulcan launch vehicle, the successor to the Atlas V launch vehicle, where it is the leading candidate engine to replace the Russian-made RD-180 engine currently used by ULA.
Blue Origin began work on the BE-4 in 2011. The new engine marks a change for Blue Origin in that this is their first engine that will combust liquid oxygen and liquid methane propellants. Blue Origin did not announce the new engine to the public until September 2014. In September 2014—in a choice labeled "a stunner" by Space News—the large US launch vehicle manufacturer and launch service provider United Launch Alliance selected the Blue BE-4 as the main engine for a new primary launch vehicle.
As of April 2015[update], the engine development work was being carried out in two parallel programs. One program is testing full-scale versions of the BE-4 powerpack, the set of valves and turbopumps that provide the proper fuel/oxidizer mix to the injectors and combustion chamber. The second program is testing subscale versions of the engine's injectors. Also in early 2015, the company indicated it is planning to begin full-scale engine testing in late 2016, and that they expected to complete development of the engine in 2017.
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