Another update from Jeff Bezos

Just seen in my inbox this message:

We’re making multiple copies of the BE-4 to take us through our development campaign, along with a healthy amount of hardware spares to mitigate schedule and technical risks encountered along the way - - a “hardware rich” approach to development. To maintain a fast pace, we’ve elected over the past years to invest heavily in key machines, tooling and people for the production of BE-4 so we can control critical processes in-house.

 

Beginning to slot one of our nozzles

 

Completion of slotting of a main combustion chamber

 

Main propellant valve machining

 

Preparing inspected GOx dome casting for machining

We’ve also started testing the BE-4 preburner in our recently commissioned pressure-fed test cell. We’re developing the transient start sequence for the preburner, and we’re making good progress.

 

Hot firing a 14” diameter preburner

We’ll continue to keep you posted on our progress as this engine comes together.

Gradatim Ferociter!

Jeff Bezos

(c) Blue Origin

Virgin Galactic video update

Hopefully will be flying soon, but I growing more and more skeptical that they will ever recoup the investment made in SS2 and White Knite 2.

I expect now that Blue Origin will beat them to carrying passengers, and will probably have lower operating costs making SS2 uneconomical to keep in service. Virgin's focus now seems to be on Launcher One and the small satellite market

(Via)

Latest SpaceX webcast

Latest webcast just started, 10 mins to launch.

Update: successful launch, unsuccessful landing.

Todays space news

First story- Luxenbourg's investment in Planetary Resources,

Second; Blue Origin to fly Friday. What with SpaceX's next launch scheduled for Wednesday I look forward to the next round in the Bezos/Musk Twitter p*ssing context...

Another bit of XS-1 speculation

Further to my previous thoughts on applications of DARPA's XS-1, I noticed Boeing's proposal:

(c) Boeing

looks ab bit like their proposals from the Space Launch Initiative (SLI) from around 2000:

(image from here)

This makes me wonder if once operational the design could be 'stacked' into a bimese vehicle to give a bigger payload? Alternatively an enlarged version (XS-2?) could be used as threbasis of a TSTO, with an uprated XS-1 as the upper stage. Other options for an upper stage could be derived from the X-37 or Dreamchaser designs. 

The week in review 6

After catching up from the previous week on Monday, has been a bit of a quiet week.

I posted a bit of speculation on future suborbital tourist vehicles, then a video Masten, practically the last firm standing that's not backed by a billionaire. I have a post I'm still drafting on this which hopefully will be done next week...

In other news, BAE systems showed yet again how they are unable to build anything on time, budget and that actually works with a type 45 destroyer breaking down in the gulf. This editorial has more details on the MOD's inability to old contractors to account and get value for money.

In addition more details are coming out on SpaceX's Mars plans:

By the next launch window, in 2020, Musk said the company would aim to fly at least two Falcon Heavy rockets and Dragon spacecraft, loaded with experiments. “By that time there will be quite a few organizations … that are interested in running experiments on Mars,” he said.

Then in 2022, Musk said he hoped to launch what the company now sometimes refers to as the Mars Colonial Transporter, designed to bring a colony to Mars.

Linking was this piece on the long term issues we need to resolve for colonisation to become a reality,

A good update on the small launcher scene and what this means for Orbital ATK,

A good summary of suborbital research's new renaissance,

Finally, making spacecraft out of asteroids? Paging Greg Bear....

Video update from Masten Space

Just uploaded today, showing their new test vehicles Xodiac and XaeroB (how many more names beginning with X can they come up with?)