SEATTLE, Wash. — Kent-based space exploration firm Blue Origin has donated one of its groundbreaking rocket engines to the Museum of Flight for a new display that’s set up at the Charles Simonyi Space Gallery. The donation marks a new partnership with the museum.
The prototype BE-3U engine was designed to power the upper stage of Blue Origin’s giant reusable New Glenn rocket that launched for the first time only a couple of months ago. It stands about 15 feet tall and weighs over a ton.
According to the museum, the engine is now one of the largest objects on display in its exhibit focusing on the latest in rocket science and space programs.
KIRO 7 spoke to Timothy Hinerman, who is on the team that developed the BE3U rocket engine. Monday morning, he oversaw the delicate installation of the engine at the museum. He said he hopes the work with the Museum of Flight and the new display will inspire a new generation to space exploration.
“This is one of the early development units we have tested,” he said. “It’s already been hot-fired. We learned a bunch from it.”
KIRO 7 also spoke to Geoff Nunn, a space curator at the museum. He watched the engine installation Monday morning and says Western Washington’s space exploration ecosystem is a strong one.
“I think it’s important that we recognize all the accomplishments that NASA makes, but we have that resilience in the addition of private players like Blue Origin,” he said.
Nunn believes Blue Origin will be a leader in the field of space exploration for years to come, if not decades.
“They’ve managed to secure quite a few contracts as it is,” he told KIRO 7. “I think they have a chance.”
The installation comes about a month after Blue Origin announced it would be laying off 10 percent of its workforce. That’s about 1,000 employees. The company has not specified how many Washington State employees would be impacted, but it maintains a large presence at one of its main offices in Kent.
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