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Jeff Bezos's rocket company beats out spaceflight veteran for engine contract
Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin rocket company just scored a major contract. His company's BE-4 engines will power United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur, a new suite of rockets that will aim to better compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX on price. Its first launch is slated for 2020. The contract award with ULA marks a high-profile vote of confidence for Bezos's space startup.
"We are very glad to have our BE-4 engine selected by United Launch Alliance. United Launch Alliance is the premier launch service provider for national security missions, and we're thrilled to be part of their team and that mission," Blue Origin CEO Bob Smith said in a statement announcing the award on Thursday.
[...] Blue Origin's win does not come as a huge surprise. The BE-4 is further along in development than the comparable Aerojet engine, dubbed the AR1, and is expected to be less expensive to make. [ULA CEO Tory] Bruno previously expressed his preference for Blue's BE-4 over Aerojet's AR1.
BE-4.
Also at Ars Technica.
Related: Blue Origin Will Build its Rocket Engine in Alabama
NASA Opens Door to Possibly Lowering SLS Cost Using Blue Origin's Engines
Aerojet Rocketdyne Seeks More U.S. Air Force Funding for AR1 Rocket Engine
SpaceX BFR vs. ULA Vulcan Showdown in the 2020s
Blue Origin to Compete to Launch U.S. Military Payloads
(Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 29 2018, @01:24AM
"How aggravating," said Thatham, as he crossed his arms in disapproval. The spectacle he was overlooking - that he was overhearing - was indeed aggravating, to the point where most ordinary people would call the cops. However, Thatham wanted to find out just what was happening, and so he exited his house and watched.
Two women were screaming at one another outside of Thatham's house. From what the man could gather, they were having some sort of screaming match where whoever could scream the loudest and the longest would win. Thatham had never heard of such a thing before, and he didn't really understand the reason for it. But, then, he observed the situation more closely and began to see something else.
"It's still not clear," Thatham muttered. Closer, closer! He needed to focus on the entirety of the scene in order to grasp it fully. Then, by using the full extent of his observational abilities, he finally understood.
"Ah...!" the man exclaimed. It was all too clear now. Thatham had, at last, spotted the true cause of this so-called "screaming match." The one behind it all - the puppet master, if you will - had been exposed. That mastermind... was a man.
The man was on top of the women, beating, raping, and mutilating them. If one were to look closely, they would notice that the women were naked and that their legs were broken; the latter was probably done so that they couldn't escape. Thatham watched for a while as the man's fists rained down upon the women and snuffed out their lives bit by bit. But, eventually, he became bored and decided to depart.
"So that's all it was," Thatham said to himself, as he slowly walked back into his house. Yes, all along, that "screaming match" had just been a man exercising his rights...