Spaceflight Insider

News Archive / Tagged: Vulcan

  • Amazon signs contracts for 83 rocket launches

    Theresa CrossApril 12th, 2022

    Last week, Amazon announced one of the most significant rocket deals within the commercial space market in order to build its Kuiper internet constellation.

  • Vulcan booster rolled to Florida pad for fueling tests

    Theresa CrossAugust 27th, 2021

    A test article for United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket was rolled out to the company’s Cape Canaveral Launch pad in advance of cryogenic testing.

  • Vulcan rocket progresses towards first launch with pathfinder arrival

    Matt HaskellFebruary 13th, 2021

    Progress continues to advance for United Launch Alliance’s newest rocket, as the pathfinder for the Vulcan rocket arrived by the company’s cargo ship and was unloaded at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Saturday, February 15.

  • Vulcan clears final review, could fly as early as 2021

    Jason RhianMay 22nd, 2019

    United Launch Alliance, along with the United States Air Force, has cleared the company's new Vulcan rocket to continue its journey toward flight.

  • GEM 63 completes 2nd static fire test

    Jason RhianApril 4th, 2019

    Northrop Grumman's new 63-inch Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63) solid rocket booster has completed another landmark in the booster's progression toward flight.

  • Blue Origin breaks ground on new BE-4 engine production facility

    Cullen DesforgesJanuary 27th, 2019

    On Jan.25, 2019, Blue Origin broke ground on its new engine production and assembly facility in Huntsville, Alabama, about 25 miles from United Launch Alliance’s Decatur assembly facility.

  • ULA selects Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine for Vulcan rocket

    Curt GodwinSeptember 27th, 2018

    Aerojet Rocketdyne lost out to Blue Origin for the production of the main rocket engine for the Vulcan lunch system. How will this guide the development of the new rocket?

  • Gallery: Desolate Utah plains rumble with GEM 63’s fury

    Jason RhianSeptember 21st, 2018

    PROMONTORY, Utah — Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 solid rocket motor conducted its first test fire at 1 p.m. MDT (3 p.m. EDT / 19:00 GMT) on Thursday, Sept. 20. The motor was tested under “cold conditions” of approximately 40 °F. The GEM 63 series is being developed for use on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V […]

  • Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 undergoes 1st test fire

    Jason RhianSeptember 20th, 2018

    The desolate, remote deserts of Utah came alive in fire and smoke during a test that heralded the introduction of powerful new launch vehicles onto the world stage.

  • Insider Live: Northrop Grumman’s GEM 63 first test fire

    Jason RhianSeptember 19th, 2018

    Want to see exclusive live video of a GEM 63 rocket motor being tested? Only SpaceFlight Insider brings you live coverage from the test site in Utah. Tune in at 12:30 p.m. MDT / 2:30 p.m. EDT.

  • ULA’s Vulcan rocket upper stage to use RL10 engine

    Joe LatrellMay 15th, 2018

    United Launch Alliance (ULA) announced it has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 engine to power the Centaur upper stage of the Vulcan rocket, which is currently in development.

  • Jeff Bezos tweets latest BE-4 engine test footage

    Derek RichardsonMarch 14th, 2018

    Blue Origin has successfully tested its BE-4 engine at its longest duration yet revealed by the secretive spaceflight company. In a video tweeted out by the company’s founder, Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos, it was announced that the engine, which is capable of 550,000 pounds (2,400 kilonewtons) of thrust, was tested at 65 percent of full-power for about 114 seconds.

  • Blue Origin conducts first hot-fire test of BE-4 engine

    Bart LeahyOctober 21st, 2017

    Blue Origin is moving forward with its rocket development program, hot-firing a 550,000-pound-force (2,446.5-kilonewton) thrust liquid natural gas / liquid oxygen BE-4 engine at its facility in Texas this week.

  • ULA, Bigelow Aerospace set sights on lunar orbit outpost

    Bart LeahyOctober 19th, 2017

    United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Bigelow Aerospace are teaming up to send an inflatable space station to low-lunar orbit by 2022. The effort will feature a series of launches aboard ULA’s new Vulcan rocket using its Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage (ACES) to make Bigelow’s B330 habitat a depot to facilitate future exploration and development of the Moon.

  • Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine test hardware suffers failure

    Derek RichardsonMay 16th, 2017

    In a tweet on Sunday, May 14, 2017, NewSpace company Blue Origin announced it had lost a set of powerpack test hardware for its BE-4 engine in development. No details were released as to what happened or why.