NASA, Blue Origin sign agreement to refurbish former Saturn V test stand
Published 11:00 am Saturday, April 27, 2019
- Amazon CEO and owner of The Washington Post, Jeffrey Bezos, unveils Blue Origin's crew capsule in April 2017 at the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Officials from NASA and Blue Origin recently signed an agreement that grants the company use of Test Stand 4670 at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.
The stand was previously used for Saturn V propulsion testing for the Apollo program, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Later, it was modified to support testing of the space shuttle external tank and main engine systems. The facility has been inactive since 1998.
Under the agreement, Blue Origin will upgrade and refurbish the test stand to support testing of their BE-3U and BE-4 rocket engines. The company will pay for the investments it makes to prepare the test stand for use, as well as any direct costs NASA incurs as a result of Blue Origin use of the stand, maximizing the value derived from taxpayer investment in government facilities.
The BE-4 engine was selected to power United Launch Alliance’s new Vulcan rocket and Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicle – both being developed to serve the expanding civil, commercial and national security space markets.
