Boeing says its manned spacecraft will be compatible with both the Atlas V and the Falcon 9, as well as the Delta IV rocket. Sierra Nevada plans on using the Atlas V as its launch vehicle, while SpaceX will continue to use its own Falcon 9. The Merlin engines on SpaceX's Falcon 9, as well as the engines on the Atlas V rocket, use a high-grade kerosene as fuel. It's also used on the Delta IV rocket, which continues to be a workhorse in space launches. The impressive shock diamonds above are the result of a new hydrogen-fueled engine – the first test of its kind in several years. Hydrogen fuel engines were used in the space shuttle program as fuel for the main engines of the orbiters themselves. "Access to the Stennis test facility and its talented operations team was instrumental in conducting full-power testing of this new thrust chamber." "We are very excited to have demonstrated a new class of high-performance hydrogen engines," said Rob Meyerson, president and program manager of Blue Origin in a statement from NASA. The other participants are Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Washington-based company is one of four upstart private space firms receiving funding for the development of a manned spacecraft that will be capable of carrying astronauts into orbit. Blue Origin plans on using the engines as part of its reusable booster system that will launch its interestingly shaped spacecraft into orbit as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) project. The engine is a 100,000-pound thrust model that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as fuel. Blue Origin, the suspiciously quiet rocket company started by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, fired up the thrust chamber for its engine at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
The most secretive commercial space company has passed a milestone after successfully test-firing part of its new rocket engine.
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