The Alabama Mafia Wants All Rocket Engines Built In Alabama Forever
Blue Origin’s new engine isn’t good enough for some congressmen, Ars Technica
“At the end of February, two US representatives, Mike Rogers of Alabama and Mac Thornberry of Texas, decided to push a little harder. On February 28, they sent a letter to Lisa Disbrow, the acting secretary of the US Air Force, and James MacStravic, who is performing the duties of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology, and logistics. In addition to reiterating a desire that ULA continue to fly a second rocket, the Delta IV Heavy, the letter urges the Pentagon officials to be skeptical about the BE-4 engine. … Although both Rogers and Thornberry are members of the House Armed Services Committee, it is difficult to avoid ascribing at least some political motives to the letter. In January, Aerojet Rocketdyne said it would produce the AR1 rocket engine in Huntsville, Alabama, creating 100 new jobs near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Already, another Huntsville company, Dynetics, has become a subcontractor for the engine’s main propulsion system. (A spokesman for Rogers didn’t not reply to a request for comment).”
Keith’s note: Of course Dynetics is where Steve Cook (who was on the Trump landing team at NASA HQ) and other Ares V/SLS veterans from MSFC went after they left NASA. And Cook is one of the usual suspects often seen in league with Doug Cooke, Dan Dumbacher, and Mike Griffin pushing their own Alabama-centric Apollo-on-Steroids notions in op eds and behind the scenes in Congress.
– Former NASA Leaders Who Still Ignore Reality, earlier post
– More False Memories About the Origin (and Cost) of SLS, earlier post
So does that mean they are going to force SpaceX to move their engine manufacturing site to Alabama?
It means that they’re going to continue to support projects like the AR-1 and hope that the BE-4 fails miserably. But by all accounts, it looks like BE-4 development is at least a year ahead of AR-1, so this increase in the bashing of BE-4 should not be a surprise.
Alabama rocket mafia… I gotta find a copy of illuminati and add that as a card…
With bonus points if it’s controlled by the KGB or controls the L4 Society?
When politics is attempting to be the driving force behind a private company’s first stage design for their next generation launch vehicle, I think “mafia” isn’t too harsh of a word to use.
This must be that “invisible hand” they are always going on about.
The Delta IV was an honest “clean sheet” attempt to create a winning ELV with hardware and technology derived from Shuttle and even the Russian horizontal processing system. Unfortunately turnaround time on the pad was longer than anticipated, and operational costs were always problematic. The central hurdle, which has no solution, is that (in hindsight) hydrogen is just not an ideal propellant for a booster, where high thrust is required; hydrogen’s low density means that the tanks and engines are larger and heavier than they are for a comparable hydrocarbon engine, and the high specific impulse is not of great value in a booster stage that does not approach orbital velocity. At this point ULA should be allowed to do what it wants to do; retire the program.
The hydrogen mafia lost that one for sure. The hassle, and cost, of LH2 might be worth it if you’re designing a “high energy upper stage” (the jury is still out on methane for this use). But a first stage that has to operate at sea level? Not so much.
well they should just “Cook/Cooke” the books to make it look more affordable.
Those congressional critters shouldn’t annoy Bezos too much. Otherwise BA & LM might get an opportunity to divest ULA for mucho $$$ from the Amazonian coffers.
The House appropriations bill sure laid it out that SLS was for using this CENTURY … so another 30 year shuttle program is what they want.
Bezos bet big on Hillary and lost big. DUMB move.
Musk stayed out of it and waited to see who emerged on top. Then played the game accordingly. SMART move.
Musk wins.
it’s not that simple Bezos is independently wealthy he doesn’t need a customer for the BE-4 (sure he won’t leave money on the table but its not the end of the world if some one flips the table) heck trump won’t even be in office by the time the new glenn starts flying so unlike Musk Bezos can actually afford to PO the government, and republicans can’t really touch him.
When do you expect New Glen to start flying? Post 2024?
More like 2018 if we’re lucky.
2020 not all presidents go 8 years
Bezos has much more money than Elon. It really didn’t matter who won.
Wow, where to begin.
“Too much politics has stifled American HSF that it sits perfectly with the cronyism of this current White House.”
I don’t even know what you are trying to convey. Could you try to make at least one clear point?
“…and bid for whatever contracts come along from his pal, Trump.”
What, CRS? NASA or Defense launches? A launch of Trump Tower perhaps?
“This is why Bezos is wise not to exaggerate and overstate things.”
When has Jeff Bezos ever exaggerated his company’s progress?
Please try again, but try to bring a tad bit more logic to bear.
Just saw this in Fortune:
“Blue Origin’s first client is France’s Eutelsat, which CNN reports has signed on to use space on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.
The agreement can be seen as a low-commitment declaration by Eutelsat, since it would use a rocket that is still in development. Announced last fall, the New Glenn is key to Blue Origin entering the satellite-launch market, but it is not expected to fly until 2020. Eutelsat’s new agreement has them launching a satellite with Blue Origin by 2022.”
Good news for all.
I wish there were a Florida mafia!