Posted: Wed, Apr 8, 2015, 9:50 AM ET (1350 GMT)
Blue Origin announced Tuesday that it has completed work on an engine that will power its suborbital vehicle, allowing test flights to begin later this year. The company said it has finished acceptance testing of its BE-3 engine intended for its New Shepard vehicle. BE-3, powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, can generate between 90,000 and 490,000 newtons of thrust, allowing for both bertical takeoffs and landings of its vehicle. New Shepard test flights are scheduled to begin later this year at the company's test site in West Texas, and will likely run for a couple of years. The company said it's also making good progress on the much larger BE-4 engine it is developing for United Launch Alliance's next-generation launch vehicle.
