A private spaceflight company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos plans to build a powerful new rocket engine in Alabama for space flight, the company and state officials have announced.
Blue Origin President Robert Meyerson said his company is seeking a production contract with United Launch Alliance, a private company that provides satellite launches for the US government and others.
Meyerson said the company will locate a production factory for the BE-4 rocket engine in Huntsville upon a contract being signed. According to the company's website, the powerful BE-4 engine is designed to end dependence on Russian-built engines for launching payloads into space.
"Alabama is a proven leader in aerospace manufacturing with the highest-skilled workforce, business climate and leadership that we need to produce low-cost rocket engines that we need to protect the nation, (and) explore the universe," Meyerson said at a news conference in Huntsville.
Blue Origin is considered a leading contender for the contract after it and ULA entered into a partnership last year with the US Air Force to develop a new rocket propulsion system to power Vulcan, ULA's new rocket designed to carry heavy payloads into space.
A spokeswoman for ULA declined by email to discuss the status of the project, saying it is an ongoing procurement.
In making the announcement, Blue Origin said it would invest $US200 million ($A264 million) in the Huntsville facility and expects to employ up to 350 people producing as many as 30 engines a year.
"Blue Origin, welcome to Alabama," Govenor Kay Ivey said in an announcement Monday. "We thank you for investing in our people."
The Alabama Development office said in a release that the state offered an incentive package of more than $US50 million, including a $US30 million tax credit for investment and up to $US10 million in reimbursements for eligible capital costs.
Ivey said the project would build on the historic role that Huntsville and Alabama have played in the development of the American space program.
The BE-4 is fuelled by liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas to produce 250,000 kilograms of thrust and is intended to be used in both government and commercial missions. The engine is designed for both the Vulcan rocket being developed by ULA and Blue Origin's New Glenn orbital rocket and capsule, which is under development.
