100-415: The BE-4 (Blue Engine 4) is an oxygen-rich liquefied-methane-fueled staged-combustion rocket engine produced by Blue Origin . The BE-4 was developed with private and public funding. The engine has been designed to produce 2.4 meganewtons (550,000 lbf ) of thrust at sea level. It was initially planned for the engine to be used exclusively on a Blue Origin proprietary launch vehicle New Glenn ,
200-534: A reusable first stage. The first flight and orbital test is planned for no earlier than late 2022, although the company had earlier expected the BE-4 might be tested on a rocket flight as early as 2020. The first stage will be powered by seven BE-4 engines and will be reusable , landing vertically . The second stage of New Glenn will share the same diameter and use two BE-3 vacuum-optimized LH2/LOX engines. The second stage will be expendable . Boeing secured
300-423: A closed-cycle process by catalytically decomposing the peroxide to drive turbines before combustion with the kerosene in the combustion chamber proper. This gives the efficiency advantages of staged combustion, while avoiding major engineering problems. The RS-25 Space Shuttle main engine is another example of a staged combustion engine, and the first to use liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Its counterpart in
400-572: A contract to design and build the DARPA XS-1 reusable spaceplane in 2014. The XS-1 was to accelerate to hypersonic speed at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere to enable its payload to reach orbit. In 2015, it was believed a modified derivative of the BE-4 engine was to power the craft. In May 2017, the contract award selected the RS-25 -derived Aerojet Rocketdyne AR-22 engine instead. The XS-1
500-463: A few months later. In the fall of 1863, they returned to Huntsville, using it as a base of operations for the war in the South until the last months of 1864. According to the journal of a nearby resident, Union troops burned many homes and villages in the surrounding countryside in retaliation for the active guerrilla warfare in the area. Many houses and buildings were burned, although most of Huntsville
600-499: A full flow of oxidizer are called oxidizer-rich . The RD-180 has an oxidizer-rich preburner, while the RS-25 has two fuel-rich preburners. The SpaceX Raptor has both oxidizer-rich and fuel-rich preburners, a design called full-flow staged combustion . Staged combustion designs can be either single-shaft or twin-shaft . In the single-shaft design, one set of preburner and turbine drives both propellant turbopumps. Examples include
700-602: A full-flow staged-combustion engine occurred on 25 July 2019 when SpaceX flew their Raptor methalox FFSC engine on the Starhopper test rocket , at their South Texas Launch Site . As of 2024, the Raptor is the only FFSC engine that has flown on a launch vehicle. Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama . It is the county seat of Madison County with portions extending into Limestone County and Morgan County . It
800-505: A longer engine life and higher reliability. As an example, up to 25 flights were anticipated for an engine design studied by the DLR (German Aerospace Center) in the frame of the SpaceLiner project, up to 1000 flights are expected for Raptor from SpaceX. Further, the full-flow cycle eliminates the need for an interpropellant turbine seal normally required to separate oxidizer-rich gas from
900-472: A major center for high technology. On July 1, 1960, 4,670 civilian employees, associated buildings and equipment, and 1,840 acres (7.4 km ) of land were transferred from ABMA to form NASA 's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Wernher von Braun was MSFC's initial director. On September 8, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicated the MSFC. During the 1960s, the major mission of MSFC
1000-576: A set of powerpack hardware. In June 2017, Blue Origin announced that they would build a new facility in Huntsville, Alabama , to manufacture the large BE-4 cryogenic rocket engine. The BE-4 was first test-fired, at 50% thrust for 3 seconds, in October 2017. By March 2018, the BE-4 engine had been tested at 65% of design thrust for 114 seconds with a goal expressed in May to achieve 70% of design thrust in
1100-466: A smaller combustion chamber. This in turn makes it feasible to increase the chamber pressure, which increases efficiency. Potential disadvantages of the full-flow staged combustion cycle include more stringent materials requirements, and the increased engineering complexity and parts count of the two preburners, relative to a single-shaft staged combustion cycle. As of 2024, four full-flow staged combustion rocket engines have been tested on test stands;
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#17327811468771200-1052: A statement denying the closure. When the schools opened on September 9, Wallace was served a restraining order against further interference with the desegregation of Huntsville schools. Huntsville became the first city in Alabama to desegregate its schools as well. Alabama's opposition to desegregation at this time caused concern from the NASA Administrator James E. Webb , who investigated equal employment opportunities for Black people in Huntsville. After failing to attract high-level staff to Huntsville, Webb said that "some research work would have to be switched from Huntsville to New Orleans". This investigation into employment caused MSFC to open their engineering education programs to Black students at Alabama A&M and Oakwood College , as well as for local contractors to "work for progress in race relations". The emergence of
1300-436: Is a power cycle of a bipropellant rocket engine . In the staged combustion cycle, propellant flows through multiple combustion chambers , and is thus combusted in stages. The main advantage relative to other rocket engine power cycles is high fuel efficiency , measured through specific impulse , while its main disadvantage is engineering complexity . Typically, propellant flows through two kinds of combustion chambers;
1400-539: Is a center for technology and engineering research in the area. There are commercial technology companies such as the network access company ADTRAN , computer graphics company Intergraph and designer and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent . Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray discs out of their Huntsville plant. Sanmina-SCI has a presence in the area. A number of Fortune 500 companies have operations in Huntsville. There are several strip malls and shopping malls throughout
1500-474: Is enough rainfall to keep soils moist and vegetation lush. Much of Huntsville's precipitation is delivered by thunderstorms . Thunderstorms are most frequent during the spring, and the most severe storms occur during the spring and late fall. These storms can deliver large hail , damaging straight-line winds, and tornadoes . Huntsville lies in a region colloquially known as Dixie Alley , an area more prone to violent, long-track tornadoes than most other parts of
1600-583: Is fuel efficiency due to all of the propellant flowing to the main combustion chamber, which also allows for higher thrust. The staged combustion cycle is sometimes referred to as closed cycle , as opposed to the gas generator, or open cycle where a portion of propellant never reaches the main combustion chamber. The disadvantage is engineering complexity, partly a result of the preburner exhaust of hot and highly pressurized gas which, particularly when oxidizer-rich, produces extremely harsh conditions for turbines and plumbing. Staged combustion ( Замкнутая схема )
1700-420: Is headquartered in Huntsville. Huntsville has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen climate classification Cfa ). It experiences hot, humid summers and generally mild winters, with average high temperatures ranging from near 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer to 49 °F (9.4 °C) during winter. Huntsville is near the center of a large area of the U.S. mid-South that has maximum precipitation in
1800-554: Is located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama south of the state of Tennessee . Huntsville was founded within the Mississippi Territory in 1805 and became an incorporated town in 1811. When Alabama was admitted as a state in 1819, Huntsville was designated for a year as the first capital, before the state capitol was moved to more central settlements. The city developed across nearby hills north of
1900-508: Is partially surrounded by several plateaus and large hills. These plateaus are associated with the Cumberland Plateau , and are locally called "mountains". Monte Sano Mountain (Spanish for "Mountain of Health") is the most notable and is east of the city, along with Round Top (Burritt), Chapman, Huntsville, and Green mountains. Others are Wade Mountain to the north, Rainbow Mountain to the west, and Weeden and Madkin mountains on
2000-676: Is rare in Huntsville. However, there have been some unusually heavy snowstorms, like the New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm, when 17 in (43 cm) fell within 24 hours. Likewise, the Blizzard of 1993 and the Groundhog Day snowstorm in February 1996 were substantial winter events for Huntsville. On Christmas Day 2010, Huntsville recorded over 4 inches (10 cm) of snow, and on January 9–10, 2011 it received 8.9 inches (23 cm) at
2100-484: Is the use of gasified propellant to pressurize liquid propellant. This is beneficial because it eliminates the need for pressurization systems that require the storage of a pressurizing gas, such as helium. Although all early BE-4 components and full engines to support the test program were built at Blue's headquarters location in Kent, Washington , production of the BE-4 will be in Huntsville, Alabama. Testing and support of
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#17327811468772200-483: Is water as of 2024. Huntsville has grown through recent annexations west into Limestone County by 21.5 square miles (56 km ) (13,885 acres, 5,619 ha) in the early 2000s, and south into Morgan County with 1.03 square miles (2.67 km2) (659.1 acres, 266.73 ha) in 2018. Huntsville borders Marshall County across the Tennessee River near Hobbs Island . Huntsville has the 29th largest land area in
2300-608: The Atlas ;V , although it uses only a single combustion chamber and nozzle. The BE-4 is designed for long life and high reliability, partially by aiming the engine to be a "medium-performing version of a high-performance architecture". Hydrostatic bearings are used in the turbopumps rather than the more typical ball and roller bearings specifically to increase reliability and service life. Staged combustion cycle The staged combustion cycle (sometimes known as topping cycle , preburner cycle , or closed cycle )
2400-734: The Energomash RD-180 and the Blue Origin BE-4 . In the twin-shaft design, the two propellant turbopumps are driven by separate turbines, which are in turn driven by the outflow of either one or separate preburners. Examples of twin-shaft designs include the Rocketdyne RS-25 , the JAXA LE-7 , and Raptor . Relative to a single-shaft design, the twin-shaft design requires an additional turbine (and possibly another preburner), but allows for individual control of
2500-594: The Great Depression . Huntsville became known as the Watercress Capital of the World because of its abundant harvest in the area. Madison County led Alabama in cotton production during this time. By 1940, Huntsville was still relatively small, with a population of about 13,000 inhabitants. This quickly changed in early 1941 when the U.S. Army selected 35,000 acres (140 km ) of land adjoining
2600-626: The Redstone Arsenal property in the south. Brindley Mountain is visible in the south across the Tennessee River. As with other areas along the Cumberland Plateau, the land around Huntsville is karst in nature. The city was founded around the Big Spring, which is a typical karst spring. Many caves perforate the limestone bedrock underneath the surface, as is common in karst areas. The National Speleological Society
2700-575: The Soviet storable propellant RD-270 project at Energomash in the 1960s, the US government-funded hydrolox Integrated Powerhead Demonstrator project at Aerojet Rocketdyne in the mid-2000s, SpaceX's flight capable methalox Raptor engine first test-fired in February 2019, and the methalox engine developed for the first stage of the Stoke Space Nova vehicle in 2024. The first flight test of
2800-476: The Soviet shuttle was the RD-0120 , which had similar specific impulse , thrust, and chamber pressure, but with some differences that reduced complexity and cost at the expense of increased engine weight. Several variants of the staged combustion cycle exist. Preburners that burn a small portion of oxidizer with a full flow of fuel are called fuel-rich , while preburners that burn a small portion of fuel with
2900-722: The Space Shuttle , the International Space Station , and a wide variety of advanced research in space sciences led to a resurgence in NASA-related activities that has continued into the 21st century. In addition, new Army organizations have emerged at Redstone Arsenal, particularly in the ever-expanding field of missile defense . This city is located at 32°31′03″N 87°50′11″W / 32.51750°N 87.83639°W / 32.51750; -87.83639 (34.6934098, -86.5607619). According to
3000-606: The Super Outbreak in April 1974 , the November 1989 tornado that killed 21 and injured over 460, and the 1995 Anderson Hills tornado that killed one person and caused extensive damage. On January 21, 2010, an EF2 tornado struck Huntsville, resulting in moderate damage. Because it was not rain-wrapped and was easily photographed, it received extensive media coverage. While most winters have some measurable snow, heavy snow
3100-520: The Tennessee River , adding textile mills in the late nineteenth century. Major growth in Huntsville took place in the decades following World War II. During the war, the U.S Army established Redstone Arsenal in the vicinity, with a chemical weapons plant and related facilities. After the war, additional research was conducted at Redstone Arsenal on rockets , followed by adaptations for space exploration. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center ,
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3200-578: The U.S. Army Air Force considered this for a major testing facility, but selected another site. Redstone Arsenal was prepared for disposal, but Sparkman used his considerable Southern Democratic influence (the Solid South controlled numerous powerful chairmanships of congressional committees) to persuade the Army to choose it as a site for rocket and missile development. As the Korean War started,
3300-586: The US Air Force issued a contract that provides partial development funding of up to US$ 202 million to ULA in order to support use of the Blue Origin BE-4 engine on the ULA Vulcan launch vehicle. Initially, only US$ 40.8 million was to be disbursed by the government with US$ 40.8 million additional to be spent by a ULA subsidiary on Vulcan BE-4 development. Although US$ 536 million was
3400-559: The United States Army Aviation and Missile Command , and most recently the FBI's operational support headquarters, all were sited at Redstone Arsenal. The National Trust for Historic Preservation included Huntsville in its "America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010" list. The population was 215,006 at the 2020 census , and was estimated to be 221,933 in 2022. The Huntsville metropolitan area 's population
3500-556: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 225.17 square miles (583.2 km ), of which 223.63 square miles (579.2 km ) is land and 1.54 square miles (4.0 km ), is water as of 2023. According to the City of Huntsville Statistics , the city has a total area of 226.62 square miles (586.9 km ), of which 225.09 square miles (583.0 km ) is land and 1.54 square miles (4.0 km ),
3600-476: The Vulcan Centaur rocket. Following Aerojet's acquisition of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne in 2012, Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson saw an opportunity to fill a gap in the defense industrial base. Blue Origin publicly entered the liquid rocket engine business by partnering with ULA on the development of the BE-4, and working with other companies. Meyerson announced the selection of Huntsville, AL as
3700-691: The supply chain for the procurement of the Russian engine. Initially, ULA expected the first flight of the new launch vehicle no earlier than 2019 but by 2018, that target had moved out to 2021. Since early 2015, the BE-4 had been in competition with the AR1 engine for the Atlas V RD-180 replacement program. While the BE-4 is a liquified natural gas engine, the AR1, like the RD-180, is kerosene -fueled. In February 2016,
3800-513: The 1,300 inhabitants of Huntsville, 448 were slaves, making up 36% of the city's population. In 1819, Huntsville hosted a constitutional convention in Walker Allen's large cabinet-making shop. The 44 delegates wrote a constitution for the new state of Alabama. In accordance with the new state constitution, Huntsville became Alabama's first capital when the state was admitted to the Union. This
3900-529: The 2.4 MN (550,000 lbf) BE-4 engines on each first stage . The engine development program began in 2011. The ULA partnership announcement came after months of uncertainty about the future of the Russian RD-180 engine that has been used in the ULA Atlas V rocket for over a decade. Geopolitical concerns had come about that created serious concerns about the reliability and consistency of
4000-665: The Army. The Marshall Space Flight Center has been designated to develop NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) is responsible for developing a variety of rocket-based tactical weapons. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama was constructed in 2003 and is located in North Huntsville Industrial Park. The plant has 1,800 employees as of 2022. The plant manufactures engines for Toyota vehicles. Navistar Huntsville Powertrain Manufacturing Plant
4100-415: The BE-4 as the main engine for a new primary launch vehicle. Blue Origin said that the "BE-4 would be 'ready for flight' by 2017". By April 2015, two parallel development programs were under way. One program was testing full-scale versions of the BE-4 powerpack , which are the set of valves and turbopumps that provide the proper fuel/oxidizer mix to the injectors and combustion chamber. The second program
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4200-521: The BE-4 on ground test stands prior to the end of 2016. Following a factory tour in March 2016, journalist Eric Berger noted that a large part of "Blue Origin's factory has been given over to development of the Blue Engine-4". Initially, both first-stage and second-stage versions of the engine were planned. The second stage of the initial New Glenn design was to have shared the same stage diameter as
4300-419: The BE-4's main combustion chamber, Bruno said, adding that he was confident the issues would be resolved soon. In October, Bruno stated that the issue was resolved and that the engine was moved into production. In the event, it was not, and would not be until 2022. On 31 October 2022, a Twitter post by the official Blue Origin account announced that the first two BE-4 engines had been delivered to ULA and were in
4400-525: The Cherokee who ceded their claims to land to the federal government. The area was subsequently purchased by LeRoy Pope , who named it Twickenham after the home village of his distant kinsman Alexander Pope . Thomas Freeman and Pharoah Roach started government surveys in 1805. Twickenham was carefully planned, with streets laid out in a northeast to southwest direction based on the flow of Big Spring. Given anti-British sentiment during this period after
4500-725: The Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC) was given the mission to develop what eventually became the Redstone Rocket . This rocket set the stage for the United States' space program , as well as major Army missile programs, to be centered in Huntsville. Brigadier General Holger Toftoy commanded OGMC and the overall Redstone Arsenal. In early 1956, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under Major General John Medaris
4600-691: The RD-180 in circa 2000 for the Atlas III and later, the V , rockets. The purchase contract was subsequently taken over by United Launch Alliance (ULA--the Boeing/Lockheed-Martin joint venture) after 2006, and ULA continues to fly the Atlas V with RD-180 engines as of 2022. The first laboratory staged-combustion test engine in the West was built in Germany in 1963, by Ludwig Boelkow . Hydrogen peroxide / kerosene powered engines may use
4700-512: The Revolution and with tensions leading to the War of 1812 , in 1811 the town name was changed to "Huntsville" to honor pioneer John Hunt. Both John Hunt and LeRoy Pope were Freemasons and charter members of Helion Lodge #1 , the oldest lodge in Alabama. In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in what is now Alabama. However, the recognized "founding" year of the city is 1805,
4800-690: The South as well. Like the rest of Alabama , Huntsville was involved in the slave trade . Slaves worked in factories and on cotton plantations. Many cotton mills in the area relied on slave labor, most notably the Bell Factory, where slaves ran textile machinery. The factory was known throughout Alabama for its high levels of production. Cotton mills grew Huntsville and the South's economies greatly, becoming 60% of all U.S. exports and connecting Huntsville to major cotton markets in Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans. An 1822 census showed that out of
4900-833: The US. On April 27, 2011, the largest tornado outbreak on record, the 2011 Super Outbreak , affected northern Alabama. During this event, an EF5 tornado that tracked near the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant destroyed many transmission towers and caused a multi-day power outage for the majority of North Alabama. That same tornado also resulted in considerable damage to the Anderson Hills subdivision and in Harvest, Alabama . In total, nine people were killed in Madison County, and many others were injured. Other significant tornado events include
5000-687: The Union in 1861, but provided many men for the Confederacy's efforts. The 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment, led by Col. Egbert J. Jones of Huntsville, distinguished itself at the Battle of Manassas/Bull Run , the first major encounter of the American Civil War . The regiment, which contained two Huntsville companies, were the first Alabama troops to fight in the war. They were also present when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. Nine generals of
5100-598: The United States gained independence, this area had become largely empty of indigenous peoples by the turn of the 19th century. An Indian trader and boatman named Ditto established himself at a landing on the river prior to American settlement. Revolutionary War veteran John Hunt was a pioneer in 1805 on land around the Big Spring . The US negotiated an 1805 treaty with the Chickasaw and an 1806 treaty with
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#17327811468775200-416: The United States, for cities with a population over 100,000. Huntsville has borders surrounding both the cities of Madison and Triana . Huntsville also borders the cities of Decatur , Athens , Owens Cross Roads , the town of Mooresville as well as the census-designated places of Moores Mill , Meridianville , Laceys Spring, and Redstone Arsenal . Situated in the Tennessee River valley, Huntsville
5300-653: The Vulcan launch vehicle is being designed around the BE-4 engine; ULA switching to the AR1 would require significant delays and money on the part of ULA. This point had also been made by ULA executives, who clarified that the BE-4 is likely to cost 40% less than the AR1, as well as benefit from Bezos capacity to "make split-second investment decisions on behalf of BE-4, and has already demonstrated his determination to see it through. [whereas the] AR1, in contrast, depends mainly on U.S. government backing, meaning Aerojet Rocketdyne has many phone numbers to dial to win support". Vulcan
5400-458: The admission of two Black students to the University of Alabama in Huntsville was challenged by Governor George Wallace . Wallace pushed back the registration dates for multiple state universities (presumably to allow more time for state troopers to move into the area) but instead moved them to Tuscaloosa . The students were admitted without issues. Around the same time, the color barrier
5500-513: The airport and up to 10 inches (25 cm) in the suburbs. As of the 2020 census , there were 215,006 people, 92,074 households, and 52,924 families residing in the city. The population density was 985.7 inhabitants per square mile (380.6/km ) There were 100,391 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 55.17% White, 29.0% Black or African American, 0.40% Native American, 2.51% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, and 4.63% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 7.75% of
5600-542: The area from Virginia , Georgia , and the Carolinas to develop new cotton plantations. The invention of the cotton gin in the late eighteenth century meant that uplands areas could be profitably cultivated with short-staple cotton, which could be grown in a much larger area than the long-staple cotton of the Sea Islands and Low Country. The increased use of cotton meant an increased use of slave labor throughout
5700-472: The center at Huntsville, they settled and raised families. The city is nicknamed "The Rocket City" for its close association with U.S. space missions. On January 31, 1958, ABMA placed America's first satellite, Explorer 1 , into orbit using a Jupiter-C launch vehicle, a descendant of the Redstone. This brought national attention to Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville, with widespread recognition of this being
5800-475: The city. Huntsville has one enclosed mall, Parkway Place , built in 2002 on the site of the former Parkway City Mall. A larger mall built in 1984, Madison Square Mall , was closed in 2017 and the site is being redeveloped into the Mid City lifestyle center. An additional lifestyle center, Bridge Street Town Centre , was completed in 2007, in Cummings Research Park. Huntsville is a key city in rocket-propulsion research for NASA and various organizations run by
5900-422: The company stores, which sometimes overcharged them. The mill owners also established rules for behavior and could throw out workers from housing if they violated these policies. As was common for the time, work was highly segregated with only whites being allowed to work inside the mills and Blacks relegated to working outside as laborers and groundskeepers. During the 1930s, industry declined in Huntsville due to
6000-418: The company's first orbital rocket. However, it was announced in 2014 that the engine would also be used on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle, the successor to the Atlas V launch vehicle. Final engine selection by ULA happened in September 2018. Although previously planned to fly as early as 2019, the first flight test of the new engine was launched on 8 January 2024 on
6100-426: The end of April 2023. On 30 June 2023, a BE-4 engine exploded 10 seconds into testing, resulting in damage to the test stand. The engine was intended for flight on the second Vulcan flight. Blue Origin has claimed to know the cause, however, as of 18 October 2023, they have not released this information. On 8 January 2024, ULA successfully launched its Vulcan-Centaur rocket using the BE-4 engine. This marked
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#17327811468776200-410: The end of the war in 1945, the munitions facilities were no longer needed. They were combined with the designation Redstone Arsenal (RSA), and a considerable political and business effort was made in attempts to attract new tenants. One significant start involved manufacturing the Keller automobile , but this closed after 18 vehicles were built. With the encouragement of US Senator John Sparkman (D-AL),
6300-414: The first pathfinder BE-4 was delivered to United Launch Alliance for integration testing with Vulcan Centaur. In August 2020, ULA CEO Tory Bruno stated that the second test BE-4 would be delivered soon, followed quickly by the first flight-qualified ones. He noted an ongoing issue with the BE-4's turbopumps. At the time, Blue Origin was still troubleshooting the 75,000-horsepower pumps that bring fuel to
6400-452: The first called preburner and the second called main combustion chamber . In the preburner, a small portion of propellant, usually fuel-rich, is partly combusted under non- stoichiometric conditions , increasing the volume of flow driving the turbopumps that feed the engine with propellant. The gas is then injected into the main combustion chamber and combusted completely with the other propellant to produce thrust . The main advantage
6500-510: The first stage and use a single vacuum-optimized BE-4, the BE-4U . In the event, they backed away from this plan. The first engine was fully assembled in March 2017. Also in March, United Launch Alliance indicated that the economic risk of the Blue Origin engine selection option had been retired, but that the technical risk on the project would remain until a series of engine firing tests were completed later in 2017. A test anomaly occurred on 13 May 2017, and Blue Origin reported that they lost
6600-412: The first time the engine had been used for a successful flight. As of 2024, there are two production lines for the BE-4, one to supply ULA and one for New Glenn. By 2017, the BE-4 was being considered for use on two launch vehicles then under development. Prior to this, a modified derivative of the BE-4 was also being considered for the experimental XS-1 spaceplane for a US military project, but
6700-423: The fuel turbopump or fuel-rich gas from the oxidizer turbopump, thus improving reliability. Since the use of both fuel and oxidizer preburners results in full gasification of each propellant before entering the combustion chamber, FFSC engines belong to a broader class of rocket engines called gas-gas engines . Full gasification of components leads to faster chemical reactions in the combustion chamber, allowing
6800-413: The high specific impulse and other specifications, Kuznetsov shipped an engine to the US for testing. Oxidizer-rich staged combustion had been considered by American engineers, but was not considered a feasible direction because of resources they assumed the design would require to make work. The Russian RD-180 engine also employs a staged-combustion rocket engine cycle. Lockheed Martin began purchasing
6900-407: The initial Vulcan Centaur launch rather than on New Glenn. By February 2019, the BE-4 had acquired a total of 1800 seconds of hot fire testing on ground test stands, but had yet to be tested above 1.8 meganewtons (400,000 lbf) pounds of thrust, about 73% of the engine's rated thrust of 2.4 MN (550,000 lbf). By August 2019, BE-4 was undergoing full-power engine tests. In July 2020,
7000-441: The location of Blue Origin's rocket production factory in June 2017. Blue Origin began work on the BE-4 in 2011, although no public announcement was made until September 2014. This was their first engine to combust liquid oxygen and liquified natural gas propellants . In September 2014—in a choice labeled "a stunner" by SpaceNews —the large launch vehicle manufacturer and launch service provider United Launch Alliance selected
7100-413: The next several months. By September 2018, multiple hundreds of seconds of engine testing had been completed, including one test of over 200 seconds duration. In October 2018, Blue Origin President Bob Smith announced that the first launch of the New Glenn had been moved back to 2021, and in 2021 an additional slip to late 2022 was announced. This caused the first flight test of the BE-4 to be scheduled for
7200-526: The original USAF contract amount to Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) to advance development of the AR1 engine as an alternative for powering the Vulcan rocket, by June 2018, the USAF had renegotiated the agreement with AR and decreased the Air Force contribution—5/6ths of the total cost—to US$ 294 million . ARR put no additional private funds into the engine development effort after early 2018. Bezos noted in 2016 that
7300-423: The population. Huntsville's main economic influence is derived from aerospace and military technology. Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park (CRP), Jetplex Industrial Park, and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center comprise the main hubs for the area's technology-driven economy. CRP is the second largest research park in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. The University of Alabama in Huntsville
7400-508: The preburner. Full-flow staged combustion (FFSC) is a twin-shaft staged combustion fuel cycle design that uses both oxidizer-rich and fuel-rich preburners where the entire supply of both propellants passes through the turbines. The fuel turbopump is driven by the fuel-rich preburner, and the oxidizer turbopump is driven by the oxidizer-rich preburner. Benefits of the full-flow staged combustion cycle include turbines that run cooler and at lower pressure, due to increased mass flow, leading to
7500-421: The process of being integrated on a Vulcan rocket. In a later tweet, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said that one of the engines had already been installed on the booster, and that the other would be joining it momentarily. On 11 May 2023, ULA CEO Tory Bruno on his official account stated in response to a question that BE-4 qualification testing had been completed "several weeks ago", indicating it was finished no later than
7600-602: The protests, the Community Service Committee (CSC) was formed to help organize sit-ins and protests, as well as bail out arrested protestors. In April 1962, a committee was formed by the city to "address the concerns of the African American community," and eight lunch counters, as well as a number of other public spaces, were desegregated. On May 11, 1962, Huntsville became the first city in Alabama to be racially integrated. In June 1963,
7700-465: The reusable BE-4s will occur at the company's orbital launch facility at Exploration Park in Florida , where Blue Origin is investing more than US$ 200 million in facilities and improvements. The BE-4 is a staged-combustion engine, with a single oxygen-rich preburner , and a single turbine driving both the fuel and oxygen pumps. The cycle is similar to the kerosene-fueled RD-180 currently used on
7800-612: The southern third is located in the unincorporated community of Greenbrier . More than 25 biotechnology firms have developed in Huntsville due to the Huntsville Biotech Initiative. The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is part of the 4,000 acres (1,600 ha) Cummings Research Park. The non-profit HudsonAlpha Institute has contributed genomics and genetics work to the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements ( ENCODE ). For-profit business ventures within
7900-651: The southwest area of the city for building three chemical munitions facilities: the Huntsville Arsenal , the Redstone Ordnance Plant (soon redesignated Redstone Arsenal), and the Gulf Chemical Warfare Depot. These operated throughout World War II , with combined personnel approaching 20,000. Resources in the area were strained as new workers flocked to the area, and the construction of housing could not keep up. At
8000-454: The theoretical model predictions of "injector performance, heat transfer , and combustion stability ", and data collected was being used to refine the engine design. There was an explosion on the test stand during 2015 during powerpack testing. Blue Origin built two larger and redundant test stands to follow, capable of testing the full thrust of the BE-4. In January 2016, Blue Origin announced that they intended to begin testing full engines of
8100-474: The two turbopumps. Hydrolox engines are typically twin-shaft designs due to greatly differing propellant densities. In addition to the propellant turbopumps, staged combustion engines often require smaller boost pumps to prevent both preburner backflow and turbopump cavitation . For example, the RD-180 and RS-25 use boost pumps driven by tap-off and expander cycles , as well as pressurized tanks , to incrementally increase propellant pressure prior to entering
8200-651: The unsuccessful Lunar N1 rocket . The non-cryogenic N 2 O 4 / UDMH engine RD-253 using staged combustion was developed by Valentin Glushko circa 1963 for the Proton rocket . After the abandonment of the N1, Kuznetsov was ordered to destroy the NK-33 technology, but instead he warehoused dozens of the engines. In the 1990s, Aerojet was contacted and eventually visited Kuznetsov's plant. Upon meeting initial skepticism about
8300-617: The war were born in or near Huntsville; five fought for the Confederacy and four for the Union. Other Huntsville residents joined the Union Army and helped establish the Union Army's 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment . On the morning of April 11, 1862, Union troops led by General Ormsby M. Mitchel seized Huntsville in order to sever the Confederacy's rail communications and gain access to the Memphis & Charleston Railroad . Huntsville
8400-512: The winter and spring, not summer. The average yearly precipitation is more than 54 inches. On average, the wettest single month is December, but Huntsville has a prolonged wetter season from November to May with, on average, nearly or over 5 or more inches of precipitation most of those months. On average, August to October represent slightly drier months (see climate chart, showing less than 3.6 inches of precipitation these months). Droughts can occur, primarily August through October, but usually there
8500-518: The year of John Hunt's arrival. David Wade settled in Huntsville in 1817. He built the David Wade House on the north side of what is now Bob Wade Lane (Robert B. Wade was David's grandson), just east of Mt. Lebanon Road. Huntsville's initial growth was based on wealth generated by the sale of cotton from plantations , for which there was international demand, and trade associated with railroad industries. Many wealthy planters moved into
8600-519: Was 514,465 in 2022, making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state after the Birmingham metropolitan area. The Huntsville metro area, which includes Madison city and the separate Southeast Huntsville urban areas had a combined population of 349,231 people in 2020, which makes it the second largest in Alabama after Birmingham / Hoover . The City of Huntsville was incorporated on November 25, 1811 Due to settlement pressures after
8700-469: Was a temporary designation for one legislative session only. The capital was moved to more central cities in the state; to Cahaba , then to Tuscaloosa , and finally to Montgomery . In 1855, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was constructed through Huntsville, becoming the first railway to link the Atlantic seacoast with the lower Mississippi River . Huntsville initially opposed secession from
8800-460: Was broken further when the first white person enrolled at Alabama A&M University. In August 1963, a court ruling determined that Huntsville must desegregate their schools. Wallace used state troopers to stop four students from entering the first desegregated school. On September 6, the troopers announced that the desegregated schools were closed for three more days, but the Board of Education issued
8900-573: Was cancelled in 2020. Blue Origin has indicated that they intend to make the engine commercially available, once development is complete, to companies beyond ULA, and also plans to utilize the engine in Blue Origin's own new orbital launch vehicle. As of March 2016, Orbital ATK was also evaluating Blue Origin engines for its launch vehicles. The BE-4 uses liquified natural gas rather than more commonly used rocket fuels such as kerosene . This approach allows for autogenous pressurization , which
9000-475: Was finally launched on 8 January 2024, where the engines performed flawlessly allowing rocket to propel Peregrine Mission One to Trans-lunar injection . Vulcan is the first methane fueled rocket to reach orbit on its first attempt, and the first to reach orbit from the US. The engine is to be used on the Blue Origin large orbital launch vehicle New Glenn , a 7.0-meter (23 ft)-diameter two-stage orbital launch vehicle with an optional third stage and
9100-566: Was first proposed by Alexey Isaev in 1949. The first staged combustion engine was the S1.5400 (11D33) used in the Soviet Molniya rocket , designed by Melnikov, a former assistant to Isaev. About the same time (1959), Nikolai Kuznetsov began work on the closed cycle engine NK-9 for Korolev's orbital ICBM, GR-1 . Kuznetsov later evolved that design into the NK-15 and NK-33 engines for
9200-413: Was formed. In 1950, about 1,000 personnel were transferred from Fort Bliss , Texas, to Redstone Arsenal to form the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC). Central to this was a group of about 200 German scientists and engineers, led by Wernher von Braun ; they had been brought from Nazi Germany to the United States by Colonel Holger Toftoy under Operation Paperclip following World War II. Assigned to
9300-609: Was in developing the Saturn boosters used by NASA in the Apollo Lunar Landing Program . For this, MSFC greatly increased its employees, and many new companies joined the Huntsville industrial community. The Cummings Research Park was developed just north of Redstone Arsenal to partially accommodate this industrial growth, and has now become the second-largest research park of this type in America. Huntsville
9400-518: Was kept intact as it housed both Union officers and troops. During the Reconstruction era , three delegates from Huntsville attended the 1867 Constitutional Convention including Andrew J. Applegate , originally from Ohio, who went on to serve as Alabama's first Lieutenant Governor. Councill Training School, which eventually became William Hooper Councill High School , was established as the first public school for African American students. It
9500-450: Was named for educator and school founder William Hooper Councill . Huntsville became a center for cotton textile mills , such as Lincoln, Dallas , and Merrimack. Each mill company constructed worker housing outside the city, creating communities that eventually included schools, churches, grocery stores, theaters, and hardware stores, all within walking distance of the mill. In many such company towns, workers were required to buy goods at
9600-716: Was not selected. By 2018, it was the selected engine for both the Blue Origin New Glenn and the ULA Vulcan launch vehicles. In late 2014, Blue Origin signed an agreement with United Launch Alliance to co-develop the BE-4 engine and to commit to use the new engine on the Vulcan launch vehicle, a successor to the Atlas V , which would replace the Russian-made RD-180 engine. Vulcan will use two of
9700-486: Was opened in 2008 and provides powertrain components to Navistar's vehicle assembly plants in Springfield, Ohio and Escobedo, Mexico. The plant is located north of Huntsville International Airport. The Mazda Toyota Manufacturing USA was constructed in 2021 with a plan to hire 4,000 employees. The facility produces Toyota and Mazda SUVs and pickup trucks . The majority of the plant is located in Huntsville; however,
9800-679: Was selected as the permanent home of the United States Space Operations Command in 2020, but in 2023 the Pentagon announced that the temporary headquarters would be expanded and remain in Colorado. Huntsville was a key location in the Civil Rights Movement . In 1962, students from Alabama A&M University held the city's first lunch counter sit-in . After the mayor refused to address
9900-447: Was testing subscale versions of the engine's injectors. The company planned to begin full-scale engine testing in late 2016 and expected to complete development of the engine in 2017. By September 2015, Blue Origin had completed more than 100 development tests of several elements of the BE-4, including the preburner and a " regeneratively cooled thrust chamber using multiple full-scale injector elements". The tests were used to confirm
10000-639: Was the headquarters for the Eastern Division of the Memphis & Charleston. During the first occupation, Union officers took over many of the larger homes in the city while the enlisted soldiers camped in tents mainly on the outskirts. Union troops searched for Confederate troops hiding in the town and weapons. There was not much resistance, and they treated Huntsville residents in a relatively civil manner. However, residents of nearby towns reported harsher treatment. Union troops were forced to retreat
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