united launch alliance
The CEO of United Launch Alliance said Thursday night that his company plans to fly a Vulcan rocket for the first time this May. Tory Bruno dated the launch attempt – May 4th.
In an extensive conference call with reporters, Bruno discussed the development of the next-generation Vulcan rocket, plans for the year, and the future of his company.
Bruno said the current “pacing item” for the rocket’s debut launch is the final work to qualify the BE-4 rocket engine for flight. Blue Origin delivered two of his flight engines to his ULA last fall, but each of these machines only underwent a fairly short series of tests known as acceptance tests. After this, two of his virtually identical BE-4 engines were sent to Texas from the Blue Origin factory in Washington. These “certified” engines undergo a more rigorous series of tests known as certification tests.
The idea was to push the certified engine through its paces, beyond the expected flight environment, and find the flaws. During this series of tests, Bruno said his one oxygen pump in these engines consistently delivered about five percent more oxygen to the engines than expected. This was outside the claimed performance range, but was only observed on this engine.
Bruno concludes, “We have come to the conclusion that this is likely simply a unit-to-unit difference.” 5% of the output from the oxygen pump of the earlier family that had no extra output.I’m happy now.I will resume testing with other engines soon.That test sequence ran for about 6 weeks. increase.”
May the 4th be with you
With this schedule in mind, Bruno said the Vulcan rocket, already in Cape Canaveral, Florida, could theoretically complete pre-launch testing and be ready to fly by mid-April. However, since the main payload of the Cert-1 mission is the Astrobotic lunar lander, there is a limited launch window available for synchronizing the launch with the Moon. United Launch Alliance is therefore targeting a four-day window to open on May 4, he said.
Bruno said he is confident that the Cert-1 mission’s three payloads, including Astrobotic’s spacecraft, Amazon’s two Project Kuiper satellites and the Celestis monument, will be ready. (Ars isn’t too sure if Astrobotic’s peregrine lander, which hasn’t had an engine yet, is ready.) You said you have a “backup plan for a backup plan” and he doesn’t. He anticipates needing them.
After the Cert-1 mission, ULA plans to fly a second Sierra Space certification mission later this year, test-flying the Dream Chaser spacecraft. It’s also unclear if the Dream Chaser is ready for this flight. and to enable the United States Space Force to conduct its first defense mission in the Vulcan. .
Between its commitment to fly 60% of Space Force missions in the next few years and the dozens of launches of Amazon’s Project Kuiper megaconstellation, Vulcan has a long manifesto through the mid-2020s. Bruno said ULA plans to meet that demand in addition to flying the remaining Atlas V rockets.
full of balkans
“We have to build strength,” said Bruno. “By the end of 2025, he will fly once every two weeks and twice a month.”
This will be an unprecedented cadence in United Launch Alliance history, even during the heyday of several variants of the Atlas and Delta rockets flying. However, Bruno said the company is making necessary investments in launch sites and production plants in Florida and California to meet this demand.
For now, the ULA’s focus is on expanding the Vulcan’s flight rate. That means the company’s goal of reusing his BE-4 engine in rockets (a plan to separate the engine section and capture it with a helicopter as it descends to Earth) is on the backburner for now. To do.
“In terms of engine recovery, it will happen within a few years,” said Bruno. “At the moment, I don’t want to say exactly when because it’s part of a contract with one customer. .”
Last November, NASA tested a demonstrator of an inflatable aeroshell (heat shield) that could slow down and withstand atmospheric re-entry as a rideshare for the Atlas V launch. ULA will employ this technology, developed by NASA for interplanetary missions, as part of its engine restoration plan.
“You can see that we might do more demos,” Bruno said. Ultimately, we will have the confidence to collect them, test them, and reuse them, and this will take several years, but it is too early to say exactly when at this point, but that activity is on the rise. You will see it change.”
