BE-3U Progress Update - New Glenn's Upper Stage Engine

Maybe they decided that they had get some publicity or be forgotten in the wake of SpaceX

There is nothing actually new here, they've been building hardware and testing it for years now. The difference is that this year since they're past Critical Design Review (CDR), they can now build the flight hardware which is what you're now seeing.

Jamal Howard. I think they are building up to something... maybe they are just about ready...

Eugene Weerts still they seem like they are barely part of the race

Jamal Howard. Tim Dodd was at their factory. They are just very good at hiding. I think one day soon we will see glen 9n the pad and be like whaaaat

Agree

There is no race.. There is Elon miles ahead of anyone ever, and the rest of the world getting a fever from watching it happen so they are all scrambling to have some fun for them selves.
It this was a race,
Nasa pulled a hamstring about 40 years ago and still hasnt come back from it, now thinking its gunna get some glory by finishing the race it already won 50 years ago.
Russia has been running at the exact same pace for 30 years and no signs of that changing.
Blue Origin has been stretching for ten years without competing a single time yet.
A dozen random youngsters are running their little hearts out but havent made it past the first hurdle yet.
Spacex has changed all of spaceflight, landing 50 orbital class rocket before anyone else has landed 1, and is pole vaulting its way to changing mankind as a whole.
If thats a race... Then WTF happened to something called competition?

@@Vatsyayana87 lol arguing with you would be pointless because your views are so boxed in 😂

@@treelonmusk8324 Not at all, I just use facts to come to my conclusions, yes people have a very difficult time with that, but by all means I don't have any problem changing my views if I am to be shown to be incorrect. I believe that's the only way to live, you can not learn if your not willing to be wrong and be fine with that.
Sometimes I'm a bit passionate, well, a lot of times but that doesnt mean I think I'm infallible, not even close.

@@treelonmusk8324 Great name btw.

Do you hear it?

@@re7alia7or - No, he's deaf now.

Is that being tested at the Rocket Lab near Boron, Ca? I use to work there. Last I heard they renamed it The astronautics lab

@@onjofilms F

The Wikipedia page is without any data on ISP and the difference in thrust between sea level and space is WAY more than normal for any rocket engines I've ever seen. Like 100klbs sea level and 160klbs vacuum -- 1.6 times as much when 1.2 would be more like the high end. Something doesn't add up.

110 klbs is for the BE-3PM which has a much lower thrust because it is a sea level optimized engine and needs to throttle down to about 20% thrust for landing New Shepard. If they gave the BE-3PM too much thrust it would not be able to throttle low enough to land New Shepard. Their BE-3U is 160klbs, vacuum optimized, and will not need to throttle. There is no need to hold back on thrust for the BE-3U. You can expect an Isp around 450+ sec for a hydrolox expander cycle vacuum optimized rocket engine.

Metric metrics :)

im just happy to be getting something

The metric system is a tool of the devil! Their engine gets 40 rods to the hogshead and that's the way they likes it.

I does look strange, that they would use those bodyparts ancient metrics for spacerockets :-( maybe if we were all clones and had same body then maybe...

Good to see a SpaceX fan that is *not* running around all over the internet just to bash/troll and hate on any and all competitors. Competition is a GOOD thing, as it forces more innovation! I am not a fan of any particular space company. I just love seeing development in space technology, and don't care if it's Bezos, Musk or anyone else behind it.
Go Space! :D

@@Antares2 Totally agree 😁

@@Antares2: true enough. There are too many fake "patriots" out there that want to trash everyone but whatever their loyalty is bound to. Like those who want to trash anything russian. Yet the usa can not get to the ISS without them or launch their satellites either. And then there are the smaller startups like space lab and one other crowdfunded bunch called copenhagen suborbitals. The later one mentioned is ramping up their efforts to crowdfund an astronaut on their home-built rocket and I have to say they are showing promise with some sound engineering.

I agree completely except one thing, there is literally no challenge to Spacex anywhere in the world, not even close. Same with Tesla, The world is watching one man change the entire world and they are getting a fever because of it. But a challenge? oh no no lol
Im 100% all for Blue Origin but calling a company that hasnt flown orbit a single time a challenge to a company that has resupplied ISS 20 times and landed 50 orbital class rockets is simply a joke.

@@Vatsyayana87: Really? Even elon musk stated that russian rocket engines are the best in the world. And that russian rockets are safer and stronger built than anyone else. And this year, roscosmos is working on reusable boosters that will land in a radically different manner. They will controlled glide to landing fields rather than use fuel to land vertically. There is even talk of the return of the second stage for reuse.

I wonder when they'll spill the beans on New Armstrong... Now that I'm excited about, I'm almost certain it'll be a budding Starship competitor.

Blue Origin needs to push out an actual rocket that can deliver payload soon so we can cancel UL:A's contracts and SLS. Fucking tax thieves need to be shown the door and removed from the taxpayer's wallet yesterday.

AKlover Did you read that on ARS Technica?

@@thethirdman225 FUCK OFF!!! Do a cursory search on ULA or SLS and find it yourself. SLS is the F-35 of the space industry. A failure welfare contract designed to spend money.

Yeah, I wonder what it will look like with the final vacuum-optimized nozzle. I am also very happy that they are finally sharing a bit information about their development!

I believe they plan on building a rocket even bigger than the "New Glenn" called the "New Armstrong" that will go to the moon.

Two years later and 2 years wiser. This thing far exceeds the Vac thrust of the J2, by nearly 7x. It uses a Bleed (Open) Expander cycle which sacrifices some efficiency for that higher thrust it produces.Should be a neat engine to get to design, construct, and test.

Kicking the bucket lol, go spaceX

@@reallysmallant7174
I don't get this weird tribalism. Both companies are awesome, we need competition to avoid monopolies and technological stagnation.

@@reallysmallant7174 all the effort towards space and beyond is welcome.

Strong and open competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin is good for the industry, good for the species long term, and will drag older companies in to the modern era if they can evolve and respond. Blue Origin succeeding is just as important as SpaceX succeeding.

Yeah, except the hare crossed the finish line ages ago, and had a threesome with the tortoise’s girlfriend and mother.

Hydrolox burns very clean. Kerolox produces a lot of sud, that glows within the exhaust. LNG+O2 is better than Kerolox, but still produces more sud than a Hydrolox design. (Though Hydrolox burns way hotter)

@@klosskopfder1.762 A methalox engine won't produce any soot. The hydrogen all burns to water or H2 and the carbon burns to CO. They tend to run them fuel rich because H2 is the ideal exhaust gas for rocket engines. Hydrolox would burn hotter if they did stoichiometric fuel and oxidizer mixing, but again, they run them very fuel rich, both for temperature and for increased efficiency.

@@jamesburleson1916 If only someone could run one of those gases in a full flow staged combustion engine - it could run at closer to stoichiometric fuel and oxidizer mixing and still get great efficiency. (Right?) If only...

True, but I'm just happy we're getting these which is a lot more than we've had in the past! :)

Next year. They are building the flight hardware now. Also they are set in a couple months to deliver the 1st flight-qualified BE-4s to United Launch Alliance.

As a pen afficionado, I can assure you that the writing instrument to which you make reference above is not, in fact, the best money can buy.
-------
It's decent value though, I won't deny. But prepare to have your mind blown should you ever take a step to the dark side :D

Tank pressure gets things flowing when you open valves. The real trick is lighting it, and for that, a lot of engines that don't use hypergolic (self igniting) propellants will have a slug of something that will ignite on contact with either the fuel or oxidizer. Once the fire is going, it all just works.

it looked like it had 2 expander exhausts.

maiden fligth for New Glenn is planned for 2021 afaik.

@@snuffeldjuret still tracking mid to late 2021.

Thomas Ackerman Coronavirus will have some impact in that.

Martijn Cornelissen the heat is used to expand the fuel to drive the pump that pushes the fuel into the engine. Then said heat that’s coming out of the engine (as fire!) is expanded in the booster trading heat for speed thus pushing the rocket according to Newton.
I think that’s right?

@@kitsandham7001 That is how I understood it as well. Managing the heat from the engine to power the turbopumps that keep the engine going.

I was not expecting this but i aint complaining

he is not, but he is a space enthusiast!

No, but the people who designed this engine certainly are!

Nope he is a bald prick who only care about money

He actually does have an electrical engineering degree

There's nothing wrong with SpaceX fanboys vs BO fanboys... Competition is good for everyone, rivalries are awesome. Let the fans fight. No one is getting hurt.

Prince Royal I think the point he’s making is that SpaceX fanboys are acting like blue origin can’t do anything right, or that there’s no point in even trying because SpaceX is currently ahead.
I’m a SpaceX ‘ Tesla fanboy myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m blinded to the incredible progress other private companies are making. I think it’s possible to cheer on both sides, like I do. Personally, I wouldn’t mind working for either company, and my eventual goal is to work for one of the two.

I think this very slow progress is being confused for problems. When Spacex demonstrate lightning fast development this extreme slow progress makes Blue look like amateurs with issues. The tourist rocket has apparently passed all tests but is yet to fly a single human. It feels like the next Blue rocket might be ready by 2055...

if you think it is odd, remember that Blue Origin tried to copyright/trade mark "landing a booster on a ship". Which in retrospect is really funny given that Blue Origin was founded before SpaceX, and BO has yet to land on said ship.

They have yet to even build something that would land on the ship...

Because methane is less efficient

And making methane off planet is more difficult - perhaps?

@@SneeuwPoesjes Then why using it on the first stage which has to do the most effort?

@@xThirdOpsx it's because methane has more energy density compared to hydrogen. Making a boost stage out of hydrogen is not efficient due to the tanks having to be absolutely massive and you'll need massive engines too which all add weight and complexity offsetting the benefit from hydrogen. An upper stage is smaller and don't often require much thrust and so can benefit alot more from hydrogen fuel.
Most boost stages now (and in the past) use RP-1 which is even more energy dense (but less efficient than methane) and has as extra benefit that it's extremely cheap and easy to handle but as a main drawback that it's combustion releases quite alot of soot which is not ideal for reuse.

@@SneeuwPoesjes Got it, thanks :)

No, really? Didn't realize it.

J Shepard lol. All this for what? SpaceX already owns space.

I'd say, 2021

They're on track for 2021, flight hardware is under construction right now in Florida, Kent, Washington, and soon in Huntsville, Alabama.

Johnny agree that in many ways Bezos vision may make more sense. However tactically speaking what Elon Musk is doing is smarter. Colonizing Mars is a very concrete easy to grasp goal. It allows much more focus and excitement needed to push things forward. Ultimately what both Elon and Bezos is providing is a cheap space transport system. This can in principle be used for anything.
While Elon Musk wants to go to Mars it is not impossible that more Starships will go to the Moon. Once operational NASA and others may start paying for a lot of flights to the Moon.
One of the benefits of a large scale Mars colonization effort is that it we create demand for manufacturing in space. With hundreds of flights going to Mars, there will be a market for fuel produced in space. That will make it possible for asteroid mining companies to start operating. One asteroid mining gets going we are going to see large potential. At first it will be for fuel but later they will mine metals and others things.

@@erikengheim1106 Starships run on Methane. I don't know anyway to make Methane in space. Blue Orgin is actually in a better position to utilize Hydrogen production in space, but they need to get going... or just give up when Starship flies and just start buying launches from Space X to build larger ships in space.

Johnny Thunder Good point. SpaceX is of course intending to produce methane on Mars. But you are right. For moon and asteroid activity, Blue origin is better positioned. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Pretty sure NS has been over the Karman line. Anyway, for orbit, hopefully 2021. I wouldn't be suprised if we see a delay though.

New Shepard has been over the Karman Line (100 km) many times now and New Shepard is scheduled for orbital launch next year.

if you compare SpaceX development of F9, it looks a lot more similar. When you do something that has been done before, it is possible to just do the calculations. When you do something that hasn't really been done before, you need to test more.

You should maybe keep in mind that Blue Origin is 2 years older than SpaceX. I have to wonder why Blue Origin STILL does not have an orbital rocket.

@@snuffeldjuret True, but New Shepherd has flown a couple of times, so this is not Blue Origin's first rocket either. I'm thinking that we can compare New Glenn with Starship and the differences in their development philosophies, even with the much greater experience of SpaceX, would you agree?

Clearly those two companies uses different development methodology. BO uses classic waterfall model wheras Spacex uses concurrent engineering.
First is cost efficient and the 2nd is time efficient.
Having in mind Musks goal (make human race interplanetary) it seems apriopriete to speed up the development and having few booms in the process. Life is short and Elon will not be here forever to drive towards this goal.
And comparing NG to starship is pointless. Target of starship is to reuse 2nd stage. NG will reuse only 1st.

No, not blue origin, the reason SpaceX works how they work is for speed so the future can come sooner so that more people will experience the future before they die, say you die in 1 year, would you want to see a fully reusable rocket launching in that time? Blue origin would not be able to do that. Though blue is spending less money, spaceX is disregarding the cost and really putting the time is money saying to the side because in the end time is priceless, you know wa i mean?

Ngga elon isn't comparable the jeff, elon is so much better

@@reallysmallant7174 not better just different 😉

@@reallysmallant7174 If he's so much better than how is it Bezos has more money?

@@keithallver2450 Elon made his first fortune making paypal, which is a great thing, but not nearly as lucrative as Amazon is. What Elon did with his money after that is what will see him the richest man in history within the next decade. Tesla is quietly taking over about three different industries, and SpaceX is or has taken over two more. Tesla recently made their millionth vehicle, and the 2 millionth will probably be made near the end of next year. Starlink will be operational by the end of this year, and will probably be making a profit within a year or two. Starship will fly this year, unless there's a catastrophic accident, and will be delivering stupid amounts of cargo probably by the middle of next year.
To be clear, I don't think Elon is better than Bezos, they are both human beings. They do have different motivations, and I think in the long run, Elon will be more impactful to the future of mankind, but that remains to be seen.

Jeff who..?

Jeff bezos, blue origin founder that his rocket still not yet reach orbit since more than decade ago until now, now you know.

They are building flight hardware as we speak. See the previous videos showing the massive 7 meter fairing and fuel tanks as well as the BE-4 engine footage. And as of right now, they're still on track for first launch in 2021.

Si

$$? I notice you didn't deny my question.

@@rodanderson8490 who are you talking to?

Well that's a terrible thing to say.
And we in the industry pronounce it both ways, most commonly tur-ban.

@@taxpayingwalrus3905 A Turban is a cloth wrapped around the head. I've known the difference since I was 9. I'm glad the majority of the aerospace industry, or whatever you claim to do, is filled with illiterates and slack jawed bumpkins.

@@AndrewSkow1
Yeah, it's going to be different when you spell it that way. It's still spelled "turbine." Many words can be pronounced differently from person to person and still be correct.
I figured you'd know that since you're calling the people who build rockets illiterate slack-jawed bumpkins.

@@taxpayingwalrus3905 I don't accept your assertion that the majority of people who work on turbines call them Turbans, like the dildo in this video (I hope it's you). Even if it were true that most people were idiots without use of a dictionary, simply being the opinion of the majority doesn't make it correct. You won't find any pronunciation guide that would make you sound like the tool/imposter this guy comes off as. Go back to building your Estes rockets.

@@AndrewSkow1 You don't have to accept it. You can continue to be bitter, childish and rude all you like.