Ursa Major Technologies

[JEF_300]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there speculation for a while that Neutron would launch from the exact same pad as Antares? Not sure if that's still the case, but whichever pad gets methane infrastructure for Neutron would be a potential launch site for a vehicle using this engine.

Early on, back when we had that 4 meter render for Neutron, we had actual quotes from Peter Beck saying that they were gonna use the same pad. But Neutron is 7+ meters at the base now, so that's right out.

[Comga]

I assume there's a reason for the matt black finish other than looking cool?

increases emissivity and allows a consistent emissivity without specular reflection, so you can get very accurate temperature measurements with thermal IR cameras.

[Jim mode]
It does not
[/Jim]

1=Reflectivity+Transmissivity+Absorptivity applies at any wavelength but the values vary across the spectrum
The very common Type 2 anodize for Aluminum is very dark across the visible spectrum and pretty reflective starting just beyond the end human visual sensitivity in the red. It has low thermal emissivity.
The thermal radiators on many space systems, deep space instruments and Dragon’s trunk, for instance, are white.
Diffuse is something separate, of course, preventing glints, not reflectivity.

[russianhalo117]

Pad would also need methane infrastructure. Given low flight rate not worth building new LV especially as it will be competiting with Neutron, Beta and Terran R for similar payloads in commercial market.

Sent from my SM-T733 using Tapatalk

Wasn't there speculation for a while that Neutron would launch from the exact same pad as Antares? Not sure if that's still the case, but whichever pad gets methane infrastructure for Neutron would be a potential launch site for a vehicle using this engine.

Early on, back when we had that 4 meter render for Neutron, we had actual quotes from Peter Beck saying that they were gonna use the same pad. But Neutron is 7+ meters at the base now, so that's right out.

Unbuilt MARS LP-0C and LP-0D et al (0D and above is notional and requires terraforming (additional land creation)) is available and they toured the site. There was a discussion a few years back for Electron regarding the list of other WFF LC sites that were being made available to MARS for new prospective launcher providers.

[Daniels30]

URSA MAJOR’S ADVANCED MANUFACTURING LAB IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO DELIVERS ITS FIRST 3D-PRINTED ROCKET ENGINE COMPONENTS

https://www.ursamajor.com/blog/ursa-majors-advanced-manufacturing-lab-in-youngstown-ohio-delivers-its-first

[Daniels30]

Hadley’s been on a run lately. Our 5,000 lbf rocket engine has surpassed 50,000 seconds of run time
https://twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1564380812954554368

[Daniels30]

Ursa Major wins $3.6 million U.S. Air Force contract to flight-qualify rocket engine
https://spacenews.com/ursa-major-wins-3-6-million-u-s-air-force-contract-to-flight-qualify-rocket-engine/

[Robotbeat]

I assume there's a reason for the matt black finish other than looking cool?

increases emissivity and allows a consistent emissivity without specular reflection, so you can get very accurate temperature measurements with thermal IR cameras.

[Jim mode]
It does not
[/Jim]

1=Reflectivity+Transmissivity+Absorptivity applies at any wavelength but the values vary across the spectrum
The very common Type 2 anodize for Aluminum is very dark across the visible spectrum and pretty reflective starting just beyond the end human visual sensitivity in the red. It has low thermal emissivity.
The thermal radiators on many space systems, deep space instruments and Dragon’s trunk, for instance, are white.
Diffuse is something separate, of course, preventing glints, not reflectivity.

wrong. Yes it does, and that’s why some test versions of Merlin 1D were painted black. Engines also get hot enough that they start glowing in the visible, so if you want consistent emissivity through the whole temperature range, black is what you want. It’s way more consistent than anything else. And when measuring temperatures with FLIR imaging, consistency is what you want.

[Daniels30]

Ursa Major very quietly launched a Youtube channel. So far it features of single video with lots behind the scenes and b-roll footage:


Two firsts to start the week: We recently conducted our first hotfire test of Hadley’s copper chamber, which also made this the first Youngstown-made hardware on the test stand!
https://twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1571991914127425536

[ddspaceman]

https://twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1574436646082453509

[Daniels30]

Coming soon to a launch pad near you: the highest-performing American kerosene engine ever built.

First look: Ripley hotfire:
https://twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1631703343528808456

[Davidthefat]

Coming soon to a launch pad near you: the highest-performing American kerosene engine ever built.

First look: Ripley hotfire:
https://twitter.com/ursamajortech/status/1631703343528808456

I wonder how it fairs compared to the AJRD AR1 engine (RIP). High performance meaning efficiency I presume.

[ParabolicSnark]

Looks like the new Vector are buying Hadley's from Ursa. Hope Ursa negotiated a heavy down payment.

https://www.ursamajor.com/media/press-release/us-rocket-propulsion-company-ursa-major-to-provide-engines-to-vector-launch?utm_source=social&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=ongoing

Launch Provider Outsourcing World-Class Propulsion for National Security Mission
DENVER - March 7, 2023 - Ursa Major, America's leading privately funded company focused solely on rocket propulsion, today announced an agreement with launch provider Vector Launch to support Vector’s recently awarded U.S. national security contract.

Ursa Major will supply several 5,000-pound thrust “Hadley” engines to power the main stage of Vector-R launch vehicles to demonstrate capabilities for future missions.

“Partnering with Ursa Major allows Vector Launch to pair its vehicle and responsive-launch innovations with world-class propulsion, said Jeff Lane, Chief Technology Officer at Vector Launch. “Ursa Major’s reliable, high-performing rocket engines will help ensure a successful demonstration and create a key national security capability for our company.”

Vector Launch is focused on solving complex national security challenges facing the intelligence community, U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies.

The mission will demonstrate a liquid-fueled vehicle and launch using the Vector-R system, which includes:

Responsive mobile Transporter Erector Launcher (TEL) capability for rapid deployment from any location

Remotely controlled, secure command-and-control sub-system designed to survive adverse conditions

Reusable launch infrastructure

“Until very recently, launch companies had nowhere to turn for reliable, high-performing propulsion on-demand,” said Brad Appel, Chief Technology Officer at Ursa Major. “Vector Launch is yet another example of a forward-thinking, results-driven launch provider that’s going to support its customers’ missions with Ursa Major engines.”

The Ursa Major Hadley engine is a 5,000-pound thrust, oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) engine fueled by liquid kerosene. Hadley is highly reliable, with more than 50,000 seconds of test runtime, far more than a typical engine is tested prior to first flight.

Ursa Major focuses solely on propulsion to lower the cost and risks of the most expensive, time-consuming, and risky aspect of space launch. Ursa Major’s flexible rocket engines can be used for various missions, from air launch to hypersonic flight and on-orbit missions.

[trimeta]

By my count, this means Ursa Major has deals to sell Hadleys to Astra, Phantom Space, Vector, C6 Launch, and Stratolaunch. I hope for their sake they're requesting heavy down payments from all their customers.

[TrevorMonty]

By my count, this means Ursa Major has deals to sell Hadleys to Astra, Phantom Space, Vector, C6 Launch, and Stratolaunch. I hope for their sake they're requesting heavy down payments from all their customers.

I wouldn't count on first 4 being long term customers.

[trimeta]

By my count, this means Ursa Major has deals to sell Hadleys to Astra, Phantom Space, Vector, C6 Launch, and Stratolaunch. I hope for their sake they're requesting heavy down payments from all their customers.

I wouldn't count on first 4 being long term customers.

You're more optimistic than me, in that case.

[TrevorMonty]

By my count, this means Ursa Major has deals to sell Hadleys to Astra, Phantom Space, Vector, C6 Launch, and Stratolaunch. I hope for their sake they're requesting heavy down payments from all their customers.

I wouldn't count on first 4 being long term customers.

You're more optimistic than me, in that case.

Stratolaunch are likely to buy many.

[TrevorMonty]

Interview with Joe co founder of Ursa.
They are producing around 1 Hadley a week, sold 35 last year and few years before. Besides customers we know there are others they can't talk about yet. One market I hadn't heard of was rocket targets for DoD.

[Solarsail]

If the DOD rocket targets are Generation Orbit's vehicle, then we might want to add them to the list. 

[trimeta]

If the DOD rocket targets are Generation Orbit's vehicle, then we might want to add them to the list.

I looked into them when making my earlier list, since at one point Generation Orbit had pivoted to an air-launched hypersonic testbed using Hadley (much like Stratolaunch has), but apparently Generation Orbit has been purchased by SpaceWorks, and they seem to mostly be working on decelerators (including reentry capsules, "rescue kits" to be thrown at warfighters behind enemy lines, and yes, recoverable hypersonic capsules which were accelerated by someone else's booster), not things that require rocket engines. So probably no longer an Ursa Major customer.

[Daniels30]

First Look: Ripley on the Test Stand


AMERICAN ROCKET PROPULSION LEADER URSA MAJOR COMPLETES HOTFIRE TEST CAMPAIGN OF 50,000-POUND THRUST “RIPLEY” ENGINE

Ripley is the Highest-Performing American Kerosene Engine Ever Built
DENVER – March 9, 2023 - Ursa Major, America's leading privately funded company focused solely on rocket propulsion, today announced a milestone in the development of its redesigned “Ripley” rocket engine: successful hotfire tests. The test campaign showed the integrated Ripley engine—including turbomachinery, oxidizer-rich preburner, and additive-manufactured copper thrust chamber assembly—firing as a complete system in flight-like conditions.

Ripley has the highest “Specific Impulse,” or Isp, a measurement of fuel economy, of any American kerosene rocket engine in history.

“This hotfire test campaign is a critical milestone for Ripley as we move into full-scale development and production,” said Brad Appel, Chief Technology Officer at Ursa Major. “The new 50,000-pound-thrust design is in response to growing market demand for this medium-lift thrust class.”

Customers using Ripley will save years of time and millions of dollars while benefitting frombest-in-class performance and reliability.

The first iteration of the Ripley engine hotfired in 2021 with 35,000 pounds of thrust. Ursa Major increased the thrust to 50,000 pounds to better suit medium-class launch vehicles. 

Ursa Major tests its engines at its one-of-a-kind facility in Berthoud, Colorado, which houses engine design, manufacturing, and testing all in one place. To date, Ursa Major engines have accumulated more than 60,000 seconds of run-time.

Unlike other propulsion systems, Ursa Major engines are designed to be used on multiple vehicles and for various use cases, creating efficiencies that help customers get to launchfaster without relying on foreign-made technology or incurring the high cost of building engines in-house.


https://www.ursamajor.com/media/press-release/american-rocket-propulsion-leader-ursa-major-completes-hotfire-test-campaign?utm_source=social&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=ongoing