{"id":56051,"date":"2018-04-27T14:04:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-27T14:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/27\/ula-head-teases-vulcan-engine-decision-as-coming-very-soon\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T00:10:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T00:10:39","slug":"ula-head-teases-vulcan-engine-decision-as-coming-very-soon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/space-symposium\/2018\/04\/27\/ula-head-teases-vulcan-engine-decision-as-coming-very-soon\/","title":{"rendered":"ULA head teases Vulcan engine decision as coming \u2018very soon\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. \u2014 A decision on whether a Blue Origin<\/a> or Aerojet Rocketdyne engine will power United Launch Alliance\u2019s future Vulcan rocket will be coming \u201cvery soon,\u201d ULA\u2019s president and CEO said April 17.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How soon?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSoon,\u201d Tory Bruno, who has led ULA since 2014<\/a>, told Defense News in an exclusive interview at Space Symposium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps when Blue Origin wraps up hot fire tests<\/a> of its BE-4 engine<\/a>? Or when the U.S. Air Force selects three companies to continue developing launch systems this summer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bruno takes out a notebook and flips it open. The word \u201cSOON\u201d is printed in all-caps across the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs you come closer in a competitive selection, you find that it\u2019s harder to be as open,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Air Force is slated to pick up to three competitors<\/a> for the next phase of its evolved expendable launch vehicle<\/a>, or EELV, program this summer. During the \u201claunch services agreements\u201d phase, companies and the government will enter into private-public partnerships to fund the development of next-generation launch systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for more from Space Symposium 2018!<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ultimate goal is for the Defense Department to emerge with two competitive options<\/a> capable of launching national security payloads into space using domestic rocket motors. ULA\u2019s Atlas V rocket, which until recently was the Air Force\u2019s dominant launch system, is powered by a Russian-made RD-180 for its first stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ULA had planned to pick either Blue Origin\u2019s BE-4 engine or Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s AR1<\/a> to power the first stage of its upcoming Vulcan rocket by the end of 2017, Bruno told Defense News last year. However, that deadline \u2014 and the first BE-4 hot fire tests \u2014 came and went without a decision from ULA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTesting is going well, I think it is common knowledge that Blue is testing at the full-scale level. Aerojet is testing at component full scale, and subscale for integrated set. They\u2019re both doing well. Beyond that I can\u2019t really say much more other than we will select soon,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s unclear whether ULA\u2019s proposal for the EELV competition included a BE-4 powered Vulcan, an AR1-powered Vulcan, or both options \u2014 and Bruno wouldn\u2019t confirm either way, noting that source selection is ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ULA has been leaning toward the Blue engine, which has mostly been funded by internal investments by Blue Origin and could be ready for qualification by the end of the year. But the engine is the first of its size to use methane as a propellant, which could introduce the possibility of combustion instability and has caused ULA to keep its options open until Blue Origin proves its engine works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AR1 is fueled with kerosene and liquid oxygen, the same as the RD-180, and is seen as the lower-risk entry. But its development has lagged behind the BE-4, with certification slated for 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While ULA still hasn\u2019t make a public decision on which engine to adopt, it\u2019s been a busy year on the Vulcan program, Bruno said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the EELV request for proposals was issued last year, ULA decided to make a big change to its Vulcan design. Instead of using its Centaur upper stage, which was also used on the Atlas V, the company opted to speed up development of the Centaur 5, Bruno said. The newer stage will have a larger propellant tank that\u2019s about 5.4 meters in diameter, compared to its predecessor\u2019s tank, which is about 3 meters in diameter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives us much larger payloads for the more complicated orbits right out of the gate,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also gives ULA on the head start of Advanced Cryogenic Evolved Stage, or ACES<\/a>, a future upper stage for Vulcan that is planned to be reusable. ACES will have the same diameter of propellant tank as Centaur 5, Bruno said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was something that we had been thinking about and planned to do later,\u201d he said. \u201cIt did cause us to re-plan how the team would be distributed and how it would accomplish that. So yeah, there was a challenge \u2014 but not a huge challenge, and I wouldn\u2019t characterize it as a surprise.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So far, ULA has completed a critical design review for the Vulcan\u2019s booster and a preliminary design review for its upper stage, with a critical design review planned for next year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has configured its facility in Decatur, Alabama, for Vulcan production with new tooling with a higher level of automation, and the company is building qualification hardware that it can test during the development process, Bruno said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ULA has also been working on a new launch pad for Vulcan, and it\u2019s reworking its launch tower to accommodate both Atlas and Vulcan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For those who are wondering when @ulalaunch<\/a> is going to chose between @blueorigin<\/a> 's BE-4 and @AerojetRdyne<\/a> 's AR1 engine for its Vulcan rocket, here is @torybruno<\/a> 's official answer. #34SS<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DF8DOWct2e<\/a><\/p>— Valerie Insinna (@ValerieInsinna) April 17, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>