When Blue Origin announced plans for its Huntsville facility in June 2017, the company said the project would get under way as soon as ULA awarded it a contract. “This is what we do better than anyone else in the world.” “Located just a few miles from the ULA assembly facility in Decatur, Blue Origin’s rocket engine manufacturing facility will be right at home in Huntsville, a hub of innovation for this industry for decades.” “The United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin are teaming to make a next-generation rocket a reality, and it will have deep roots in Alabama’s aerospace industry,” Secretary Canfield said. Greg Canfield, secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket and Blue Origin’s engines will transmit a strong message around the globe about the capabilities of Alabama aerospace manufacturing sector.

It said the Vulcan Centaur will have greater capabilities to lift payloads into orbit than any currently available single-core launch vehicle.

ULA said the new rocket’s booster will be powered by a pair of BE-4 engines, each producing 550,000 pounds of thrust. “We are pleased to enter into this partnership with Blue Origin and look forward to a successful first flight of our next-generation launch vehicle,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. It said new rocket design is nearing completion, with booster preliminary design and critical design reviews already complete. Colorado-based ULA said today that it is making strong progress in the development of the Vulcan Centaur, which is on track for its initial test flight in mid-2020.

Rocket launcher 2.0 add engine