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"We are expecting Blue to keep up with us, and we're working very, very hard to do that," he said. "So far, so good.“
Seems like it’s BO that should be “working very very hard” to make the engines that ULA needs.
Yes, an odd statement indeed.
Or it's a sale pitch. They're shopping ULA around, so they say "If it wasn't for Blue Origin, we'd be doing so much better."
Phrased another way, in deference to Blue Origin being a potential buyer, "We move faster than Blue Origin." That would invite Jeff to think that he can turbocharge his organization by buying ULA.
TunaBug
Member
It seems obvious to me that it's something along those lines. All CEOs are cheerleaders for their companies. Most CEOs are able to control their mouths. Whether y'all have guessed his specific meaning, I don't doubt that it's intended to make ULA look good to the people that matter to him.
Top tip: mark your tanks "DO NOT DESTROY"
The Case of the Missing Vega AVUM Propellant Tanks - European Spaceflight
The Case of the Missing Vega AVUM Propellant Tanks - European Spaceflight
That’s just the ultimate sad indictment of legacy aerospace at its finest. They move so slowly that no one knows what in process inventory is and isn’t since inventory is sitting around for, in some cases, decades.
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"Small correction on yesterday's story. While Biomass had been scheduled to be launched aboard the final Vega flight, ESA has made the decision to launch Sentinel 2C in its place. I don't think this information has been publicly announced yet."
I'd never heard of the all-solid-rocket approach for Ariane 6. That doesn't sound like it would scale particularly well, for environmental reasons.
Hmm. Martian soil is rich in perchlorates, and aluminum is also common. Would a solid rocket be better suited for in-situ resource utilization on Mars?
And, sure enough, here's an article on folks playing with that at Purdue University. They talk about the perchlorates in Martian soil being calcium perchlorate and magnesium perchlorate. Neither is as efficient an oxidizer as ammonium perchlorate (used on the Space Shuttle), but the experimental results were described as "encouraging". With Mars' lower gravity, they might work. Certainly the aluminum will be there. Interestingly, the guy behind the work described in that article moved on to Blue Origin...
I am Jack's complete lack of surprise:
arstechnica.com
ULA chief says Vulcan rocket will slip to 2024 after ground system issues
The Colorado-based launch company will end 2023 with just three launches.
arstechnica.com
The reason I like Berger’s articles so much is that he always finds a way to twist the knife:I am Jack's complete lack of surprise:
ULA chief says Vulcan rocket will slip to 2024 after ground system issues
The Colorado-based launch company will end 2023 with just three launches.
“Whereas Bruno's company launched just three rockets in 2023, on a handful of occasions SpaceX has launched three rockets in three days during this calendar year. ”
There's probably nothing new here, but it's another article on Blue Origin or Cerberus possibly bidding in the $2-3 billion dollar range for ULA.
www.wsj.com
WSJ News Exclusive | Jeff Bezos’ Rocket Startup and Cerberus Compete to Buy SpaceX Rival
Blue Origin and Cerberus made buyout bids for a rocket-launch venture owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
www.wsj.com
There's probably nothing new here, but it's another article on Blue Origin or Cerberus possibly bidding in the $2-3 billion dollar range for ULA.
WSJ News Exclusive | Jeff Bezos’ Rocket Startup and Cerberus Compete to Buy SpaceX Rival
Blue Origin and Cerberus made buyout bids for a rocket-launch venture owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
If B.O. buys ULA, it will be interesting to see what the product of two companies with such a pace and style is...
Eric Berger: Blue Origin has emerged as the likely buyer for United Launch Alliance
But Vulcan and New Glenn seem like pretty direct competitors.
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I'm not sure what you're suggesting here. Companies buy their competitors all the time.
In this case, Blue Origin buying ULA makes a lot of sense for the sake of efficiency. ULA is currently purchasing BE-4 engines from Blue Origin. I assume Blue Origin is making a profit off those engines. But if Blue Origin buys ULA, then they inherit all the Vulcan launch contracts and they get to execute them with BE-4 engines obtained at cost. That should be a hefty boost in profit per launch because engines are the lion's share of booster cost.
I assume the government will allow it because they only need two providers of heavy launch systems.
True of course. But I am wondering; if New Glenn is a success and starts launching next year, how long will Vulcan last? I suppose years, because New Glenn will be busy launching Kuiper sats, and BO may not be able to produce New Glenn vehicles too frequently.
And backed by Bezos’s billions, BO can pretty much do what it wants.
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