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reddit455 t1_iu5vgit wrote

>The company recently announced its plans to launch the first two Project Kuiper internet satellites later this year aboard United Launch Alliance’s upcoming Vulcan Centaur rocket, which was supposed to launch in 2020 but has suffered multiple delays.

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delays? like delivery of the engines?

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BE-4

The Blue Engine 4[2] or BE-4 is an oxygen-rich[3] liquefied-methane-fueled staged-combustion rocket engine under development by Blue Origin. The BE-4 is being developed with private and public funding.[4] The engine has been designed to produce 2.4 meganewtons (550,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level.[5]
It was initially planned for the engine to be used exclusively on a Blue Origin proprietary launch vehicle New Glenn, the company's first orbital rocket. However, it was announced in 2014 that the engine would also be used on the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle, the successor to the Atlas V launch vehicle.[6] Final engine selection by ULA happened in September 2018.[7]

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DBDude t1_iu78mqx wrote

The difference in management and results has been amazing. Bezos set up a traditionally-managed launch company and threw billions at it for twenty years hoping it would produce, and they haven't even made it to orbit. They can't even produce the engines so Vulcan Centaur can make it to orbit.

Musk set up a more startup-like company using agile development methods, and they were running America's workhorse rocket within fifteen years (when they surpassed Atlas V).

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