Blue Origin certainly has ambitious launch targets for New Glenn
Blue Origin certainly has ambitious launch targets for New Glenn
蓝色起源（Blue Origin）为 New Glenn 火箭设定的发射目标确实雄心勃勃
Earlier this week, Blue Origin posted a job opportunity for a “senior manager” to oversee tank fabrication for “Quattro,” and the description contained some intriguing information. “As part of a hardworking team of specialists, technicians, and engineers you will be the Senior Manager of Gen 2.0 Tank Fabrication, and will own the production execution of the most structurally complex and schedule-critical subsystem on the vehicle—the propellant tank,” the job posting states.
本周早些时候，蓝色起源发布了一则招聘启事，寻找一名“高级经理”来负责“Quattro”项目的燃料箱制造工作，职位描述中包含了一些引人注目的信息。招聘启事写道：“作为由专家、技术人员和工程师组成的勤奋团队的一员，你将担任第二代（Gen 2.0）燃料箱制造高级经理，负责该运载工具中结构最复杂、进度最关键的子系统——推进剂燃料箱的生产执行。”
Quattro is the company’s nickname for a more powerful upper stage for the New Glenn rocket, which will feature four BE-3U engines instead of the two currently powering the booster. Blue Origin revealed plans for this more powerful variant of New Glenn, 9×4 (nine first stage engines, and four upper stage engines), last November. It is possible this rocket, significantly larger than the 7×2 variant currently flying and necessary for the company’s lunar ambitions as part of NASA’s Artemis program, could make its debut next year.
“Quattro”是该公司为 New Glenn 火箭研发的更强大上面级的代号，它将配备四台 BE-3U 发动机，而非目前助推器所使用的两台。蓝色起源在去年 11 月披露了这一更强大的 New Glenn 变体计划，即“9×4”配置（一级火箭配备 9 台发动机，上面级配备 4 台发动机）。这种火箭比目前正在飞行、且作为 NASA 阿耳忒弥斯（Artemis）计划一部分以实现公司登月雄心所必需的“7×2”变体要大得多，它很有可能在明年首次亮相。
Get ready to ramp production
准备提升产能
There is some additional information in the posting that underscores the ambition Blue Origin is chasing with its New Glenn vehicle, which has launched three times since its initial flight in January 2025. The job responsibilities include executing a “rate ramp”—which is to say, a production rate—of 12 per year currently to 60 per year by the third quarter of 2028, followed by a production rate of 100 second stages annually by 2029. A company official told Ars that these production targets are accurate.
招聘启事中还有一些额外信息，凸显了蓝色起源对其 New Glenn 火箭的雄心。自 2025 年 1 月首飞以来，该火箭已发射了三次。工作职责包括执行“产能爬坡”——即生产率从目前的每年 12 枚提升至 2028 年第三季度的每年 60 枚，随后在 2029 年达到每年生产 100 个上面级的水平。一位公司官员向 Ars 证实，这些生产目标是准确的。
For the time being, Blue Origin is still studying whether to pursue a reusable upper stage for New Glenn, so each launch of the vehicle requires a new upper stage. A production rate of 60 a year in 2028 suggests the company is targeting a launch rate of 60 New Glenn 9×4 rockets annually just three years from now. That would be in addition to the 7×2 variant currently flying, which would continue to be used for less demanding missions.
目前，蓝色起源仍在研究是否要为 New Glenn 开发可重复使用的上面级，因此该火箭的每次发射都需要一个新的上面级。2028 年每年 60 枚的生产率表明，该公司计划在三年后实现每年 60 次 New Glenn 9×4 火箭的发射频率。这还不包括目前正在飞行、并将继续用于要求较低任务的“7×2”变体。
Building lots of infrastructure
大规模建设基础设施
These targets, of course, are overly optimistic. Before the year 2025, for example, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos told the company he wanted New Glenn to launch eight times that year. It ended up flying twice, in January and November. And frankly, for such a large and new rocket, that is not a bad flight rate at all, especially with the company landing the first stage of the second New Glenn launch successfully. The company is also dealing with an upper stage anomaly on the most recent launch of New Glenn earlier this month.
当然，这些目标过于乐观了。例如，在 2025 年之前，蓝色起源创始人杰夫·贝索斯曾告诉公司，他希望 New Glenn 当年能发射八次。最终它只飞行了两次，分别在 1 月和 11 月。坦率地说，对于这样一种大型且全新的火箭来说，这个飞行频率一点也不差，尤其是该公司还成功回收了第二次 New Glenn 发射的一级火箭。此外，该公司目前正在处理本月初 New Glenn 最近一次发射中出现的上面级异常问题。
So no one should be penciling in several dozen launches a year before the end of this decade just yet. However, it would also be foolish to dismiss Blue Origin’s aspiration to launch the super heavy lift rocket frequently. Bezos continues to make major investments in infrastructure in Florida, most recently in an 800,000-square-foot new manufacturing facility known as “Project Horizon.” It is possible that New Glenn second stages could be manufactured at this facility. And if you want to be the person responsible for building 100 tanks a year for these stages, it sounds like Blue Origin has a job open for you.
因此，在十年结束之前，没人应该过早地将每年几十次的发射计划写进日程表。然而，如果因此就否定蓝色起源频繁发射这种超重型运载火箭的愿望，也是不明智的。贝索斯继续在佛罗里达州进行大规模基础设施投资，最近的一个项目是名为“地平线计划”（Project Horizon）的 80 万平方英尺新制造工厂。New Glenn 的上面级很有可能就在该工厂制造。如果你想成为那个每年为这些上面级制造 100 个燃料箱的负责人，听起来蓝色起源正有一个职位在等着你。