kevintieman t1_iu06kfw wrote on October 27, 2022 at 4:10 PM

Reply to comment by Adeldor in US Space Systems debriefs Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin executives on military space weapon applications and opportunities by upyoars

To be fair, it took SpaceX roughly the same time to develop the raptor. So while late according to schedule, it’s actually not that bad.

Bensemus t1_iu16527 wrote on October 27, 2022 at 7:59 PM

Raptor is an engine design that has never been used before. BE-4 is a well known design but using new fuel. SpaceX is also has built over 100 V1 engines and has already built multiple V2 engines. Blue likely has yet to build 10 BE-4s

kevintieman t1_iu1acsf wrote on October 27, 2022 at 8:26 PM

Developing an engine from scratch is hard, both BE4 and raptor were. And none of those 100 v1 engines will be used to get to orbit. Look, I’m a big fan of SpaceX. But I also think BO deserves credit for developing such a complex and powerful engine. I’ll be rooting for BO and ULA for a successful first flight of Vulcan.

Adeldor t1_iu08fov wrote on October 27, 2022 at 4:22 PM

Yes. That's very true. However, as I see it:

meanwhile, SpaceX also dominates the launch market with a reusable booster
Raptor development challenges engineering and materials limits in ways BE-4 doesn't.

I'm now in danger of coming across as anti-BO. I'm not. Nothing would be better for all were BO to excel. But I don't seem them there (yet).