Lord of the Rockets

@DBSLarsson @GaryleeGray @dpoddolphinpro @blueorigin No

NEW GLENN UPGRADES: @BlueOrigin just dropped an update! NEW Super Heavy Lift Variant: New Glenn 9x4 - 9 engines on Stage 1 - 4 engines on Stage 2 - 70t to LEO / 14t to GEO / 20t to TLI - 8.7m fairing UPGRADED: New Glenn 7x2 - 7x BE-4 thrust increase from 17,219kN to 19,928kN - 2x BE-3U thrust increase from 1,423kN to 1,779kN - Re-usable fairings - Lower-cost Tank Structure - Enhanced Re-usable Thermal Protection System Both variants will fly concurrently. That new aft looks... cursed 😅

@MassSimulator @NASASpaceflight @BCCarCounters @Harry__Stranger @_maxq_ They are the fin mounts

Detailed analysis, footage, and photos of Blue Origin's New Glenn booster that rolled past our cameras this week. youtube.com/watch?v=P258CU… Hosted and written by Adrian Beil (@bccarcounters). Additional writing by Harry Stranger (@Harry__Stranger). Video from Max Evans (@_maxq_) and Julia Bergeron (@julia_bergeron). Edited by Ryan Canton (@DPodDolphinProd).

@Rocket_Flyer @milan_tomicc @wikkit @DJSnM You just described exactly what I’m saying but with different wording. QTP: verify design meets all requirements (including margins) ATP: verify the given build performs as expected and therefore may fly (which it won’t if mistakes were made during production)

@RocketManJon @milan_tomicc @wikkit @DJSnM No, that is not correct and you may have been doing it wrong. Acceptance verifies the construction, process, methods, QA, etc., of a flight *like* article. Qual testing is at higher load levels and is meant to stress the design before committing to it for production.

As we've seen with Raptor - expect engine failures during testing.

@milan_tomicc @wikkit @DJSnM I will agree that you do not expect catastrophic failures to occur during acceptance testing and it is frustrating when you do. But again, ATP is there to ensure you don’t find out about non-conformances before the part/subsystem has to be used in flight.

@milan_tomicc @wikkit @DJSnM No, testing engines is my career. You just described Qualification testing. That is where you test engines to verify the design meets system/performance requirements. Acceptance testing is where you confirm that an engine build is working in-family, and doesn’t have defects.

@wikkit @DJSnM No. That is the whole purpose of acceptance testing. If you don’t catch the issue during that testing and it fails in flight, THEN you messed up. This is why we test.

@DJSnM Losing an engine during acceptance testing on a production article means you've massively fucked up.

@kwrzesien @DJSnM BE-3PM (New Shepard) and BE-3U (New Glenn) are completely different engines. They are owned by different teams. This failure has no impact on BE-3U. BE-4U was investigated as an option but dropped after trade studies selected BE-3U

@DJSnM Doesn’t it seem like a single BE4 could power the upper stage of New Glenn? Are two or more BE3s really more efficient?

Blue Origin NS-23 failed because the nozzle suffered a thermo structural failure, resulting in off axis thrust, triggering the abort system. The Capsule will be reused for future flights. blueorigin.com/news/ns-23-fin…

@thetimellis @johnkrausphotos @TrevorMahlmann @LaunchPhoto @relativityspace 🎵“…and the rocket’s blue glareee!”🎶

🚀🤯🥹😭🤘🌌 stunning and visceral first launch, what a first to witness

@torybruno Well put Tory! I wish more folks were understanding of the actual market forces in the launch industry. Hopefully this read will help some.

By popular demand, here is a brief essay on why different rockets do different things: The Secrets of Rocket Design Revealed @ToryBrunoULA/the-secrets-of-rocket-design-revealed-e2c7fc89694c" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">medium.com/@ToryBrunoULA/…

@talkplanetsbaby @blueorigin There is a New Glenn model in the official shop, under “accessories”

@blueorigin Hey @blueorigin . I really would like to purchase a model of the New Glenn. Is this somehow possible? Nothing in your offical shop :(

Blue Origin is proud to partner with @SpaceForceDoD on our journey to become a fully certified National Security Space Launch provider.

@ursamajortech Arroway was originally ORSC right?

Have you met Arroway? Our 200,000-lbf engine features a compact, fuel-rich staged combustion architecture using liquid oxygen and methane propellants. Learn more: bit.ly/3TptuaC

@torybruno @northropgrumman I thought the Vulcan SRBs were going to be ogive rather than conical?

As requested by all of the cool and fun loving space people: “unboxing” of a @NorthropGrumman GEM63XL solid rocket motor at the Cape for the #VulcanRocket in all of its 63 in dia, 120ft glory. #ToryTimelapse #CountdownToVulcan

@Erdayastronaut Nuclear Thermal and Nuclear Electric Propulsion. Orbital depots. ISRU.

What near future / future aerospace technology are you most excited about? This can even include retro “future” technology that never flew ie: Nuclear / aerospike etc

@cquantumspin @SciGuySpace Dust is sucked into the plume from the surrounding area and creates a more orange hue. Isolate the plume as it exits the nozzle and/or near the top to see the difference

@SciGuySpace The flame looks a little fuel rich. Definitely orange.

This is BE-4 flight engine two, shown here passing the first of two firing tests before it is shipped to ULA's facility in Alabama. After repairs, flight engine one should ship back to Texas for its tests soon.

@GoToImpulse Nevermind, I now see in another answer you stated Nitrous Oxide and Ethane. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!

@GoToImpulse Ah I was under the impression you were using new green hypergols that I’ve seen a lot of buzz around in academic circles. Can’t quickly find your propellants, what are you guys rolling with?

Doing a quick #AskMeAnything session this morning! Tweet your questions below. #GoToImpulse #AccessAnyOrbit

@etrm_mz @JohnFromUCLA @jgottula @SciGuySpace I can confirm that Blue uses Rankine. Not my decision…

@JohnFromUCLA @jgottula @SciGuySpace Interesting. Do we have an example of either of them using it? I’d be curious to see it, as I would think they would try to switch to Kelvin, but standards are hard things to change.

More on temperature unit madness. Turns out the chill-down temperature for the SLS main engines is 40 Rankine (not 500 as stated yesterday). That's -420 degrees Fahrenheit. NASA and temperature conversions: name a more iconic duo.

@SciGuySpace I thought it was a bit odd when one of Astra’s flights seemed to work but was just shy of circularizing its orbit… without any payload

👀👀

@SciGuySpace Looks very similar to OTRAG, which failed bigtime. I do agree that cranes are expensive, which is why my rocket company assembles vehicles using antigravity

"We decided that the EcoRocket Heavy is going to be made of small, easy to manipulate structures. This leads to an unusual configuration for a rocket, as it is wider than it is taller. At first glance, one may argue that the drag penalty of such a wide structure is severe ..."

ARCA Space is touting a "heavy" version of its EcoRocket that will launch asteroid mining vehicles. And it is financing the venture with the sale of Crypto tokens. This is possibly the dumbest space thing I've ever seen, and that's saying something. amiexploration.com/hardware