And to think, it wasn’t that long ago competitors we still using old Russian engines for their domestic rockets. Brilliant work to get back to leadership in this domain.
replyThe outcome is guaranteed to be entertaining
replyThe engines for New Glenn ain't bad either.
replyCompetition does improve products.
New Glenn's engines are quite a bit less efficient than those at SpaceX. Lower chamber pressures, lower thrust:weight ratio, and they're partial flow staged combustion.
replyI assume BO will increase their performance over time, but for now they company is about a decade behind SpaceX.
That doesn't make the BE-4 not impressive. It isn't a full flow staged combustion engine like Raptor, but it's still a highly efficient, high thrust, relightable and deeply throttleable rocket engine. These things don't often come in the same package when it comes to rocket engines.
replySpacex's work is out there ( and I am grateful for the excitement that generates ) but BO work in the shadows, surprising us sometimes with major advances.
replyI suspect BO not as far behind as you think.
They'll remain behind as long as they keep copying SpaceX's concepts since they need to wait and see before they can copy.
replyI agree, but I think SpaceX is doing it for goals rather than competition.
replyI'm not sure they're all that simpler, the basic plumbing probably hasn't changed much, it's just that modern fabrication tech means you can hide all the complexity inside
replyA single metal piece that contains plumbing inside it is simpler than a metal piece with attached pipes for that plumbing.
replyIn this particular case maybe but in general I would say it is the other way round.
replySimple is harder than complex.
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