The Blue Engine 7 is a liquid hydrogen/oxygen dual expander cycle engine for use with the
Blue Moon
A blue moon refers either to the presence of a second full moon in a calendar month, to the third full moon in a season containing four, or to a moon that appears blue due to atmospheric effects.
The calendrical meaning of "blue moon" is unc ...
family of lunar landers. The company utilizes
additive manufacturing
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...
in the development process and it is meant to generate of thrust, serving as both the ascent and descent engines for Blue Moon.
History
Following the commencement of the
Artemis Program
The Artemis program is a Exploration of the Moon, Moon exploration program led by the United States' National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), formally established in 2017 via Space Policy Directive 1. The program's stated long-ter ...
the company sought to independently develop a lunar lander, the 'MK1' and accompanying engine. The BE-7 test phase began in 2019 with additional hot fire testing in 2020 at the
Marshall Space Flight Center
Marshall Space Flight Center (officially the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center; MSFC), located in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville postal address), is the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government's ...
. Following selection for NASA's second Human Landing System, which Blue Origin calls 'MK2', the company announced that the BE-7 engine will be used for both landers. A demonstration flight of the MK1, planned for 2025 is on track and will debut the BE-7 engine. In 2024, the company announced vacuum cell testing was being conducted on the engine at the
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...
.
Technical specifications
The BE-7 utilizes liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants in a
dual expander cycle generating up to 10,000 pounds-force of thrust which can be throttled to 2,000 pounds-force. The company hopes that the propellants can, in the future, utilize
ISRU
In space exploration, in situ resource utilization (ISRU) is the practice of collection, processing, storing and use of materials found or manufactured on other astronomical objects (the Moon, Mars, asteroids, etc.) that replace materials th ...
and be produced from ice in the polar regions of the moon. It will also be used to power the transfer element, the
Cislunar Transporter in development by
Lockheed Martin
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...
.
See also
*
Lunar Module Descent Engine - used on the
Apollo Lunar Module's Descent Stage
*
Lunar Module Ascent Engine - used on the
Apollo Lunar Module's Ascent Stage
*
RL10
The RL10 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne that burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. Modern versions produce up to of thrust per engine in vacuum. RL10 version ...
- Ubiquitous LOX/LH2 expander cycle engine
References
External links
*
{{Blue Origin
Blue Origin rocket engines
Rocket engines using methane propellant
Rocket engines using the staged combustion cycle
Rocket engines of the United States