Bruno: Vulcan engine downselect is Blue's to lose

Wednesday, April 5 View this email in your browser News from the 33rd Space Symposium Bruno: Vulcan engine downselect is Blue's to lose Jeff Foust, COLORADO SPRINGS United Launch Alliance is prepared to select Blue Origin's BE-4 engine for its Vulcan launch vehicle this year if the engine passes an upcoming series of tests, the company's chief executive said April 5. In an interview during the 33rd Space Symposium here, Tory Bruno said that tests of the BE-4 engine, scheduled to begin "very soon" at Blue Origin's test site in West Texas, are the last major hurdle the engine must clear before ULA decides to use it on Vulcan. SEE FULL STORY SpaceX gaining substantial cost savings from reused Falcon 9 Jeff Foust, COLORADO SPRINGS SpaceX saw significant cost savings by reusing a Falcon 9 first stage in a launch last week, a key factor for the economic viability of reusable launch vehicles. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, speaking at the 33rd Space Symposium here April 5, said the company expects to see greater cost savings on future launches of reused Falcon 9 vehicles as the company reduces the amount of refurbishment work it does on the recovered stages. SEE FULL STORY Op-ed | U.S. satellite rules out of focus; time for new vision U.S. Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), WASHINGTON It is time for fundamental rethinking about commercial remote sensing. Agencies continue to think about remote sensing as a cold-war space technology when, in fact, it is increasingly an information technology, requiring a different regulatory philosophy. We must recognize that the United States is not the only nation with a commercial remote sensing industry — customers have a world of options. SEE FULL STORY Air Force reorg too timid for House milspace leaders Phillip Swarts, COLORADO SPRINGS Following the U.S. Air Force announcement that the service will be creating a new three-star staff position focused on space, two key lawmakers said it doesn't address the core problems. "We appreciate the Air Force taking steps to place more attention on national security space; however the solution will not be to create additional organizational layers on the Air Staff and cannot be confined to a fix within the Air Force," said a statement issued Tuesday night from Reps. Mike Rogers (R-Alabama) and Jim Cooper (D-Tennessee). SEE FULL STORY NRO to White House: Send money and stay out of the way Phillip Swarts, COLORADO SPRINGS When members of Donald Trump's transition team visited the National Reconnaissance Office, they were so impressed by the intelligence organization's innovation that they asked NRO Director Betty Sapp, "What do you need to go faster?"  "The answer to that is simple: more money and more authority," Sapp said Tuesday at the 33rd Space Symposium. SEE FULL STORY Thursday's SpaceNews Show Daily features an exclusive interview with ULA's Tory Bruno on how and when he will decide between Blue Origin's BE-4 and Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine for its next-gen launcher.    Visit SpaceNews.com throughout the day for the latest from the 33rd Space Symposium.   Special coverage sponsored by Twitter LinkedIn Facebook About SpaceNews | Privacy Policy | Advertise Copyright © 2017 SpaceNews Inc., All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: SpaceNews Inc. 1414 Prince St, Suite 204 Alexandria, VA 22314