HUNTSVILLE, AL—Aerospace manufacturer Blue Origin LLC has officially started construction on a factory here that will produce the BE-4 engines to power both the New Glenn and United Launch Alliance's (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rockets. The facility will also make the BE-3U engines used for New Glenn's second stage. Both rockets are expected to launch in 2021.
Blue Origin is also working on a deal to take over a building at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The building was previously used to test Saturn V and Space Shuttle engines. Blue Origin would use it for acceptance testing with both the BE-4 and BE-3U.