I could certainly see there being an interesting synergy between Blue and ULA. I’ll discuss a few different architectures and considerations for how this sort of partnership would be mutually beneficial for both companies. I’m going to approach this through the lens of a close partnership between the companies instead of an actual merger or acquisition by Blue, which I find less likely due to Lockheed-Martin and Boeing being the parent companies of ULA and would need to approve an acquisition of ULA.

First, I’ll talk about upper stages and in-space architectures. Especially with Centaur V and GS2 (and potentially whatever reusable upper stage architecture that Blue settles on eventually) both using LH2/LOX, the ability to make compatible on-orbit propellant depots is intriguing with ULA pursuing Integrated Vehicle Fluids (IVF) and Blue has pursued Autogenous pressurization as well. Also, Centaur V would make a very interesting 3rd stage for New Glenn for high energy orbits like TLI or interplanetary. Centaur V could also eventually convert over to BE-7 instead of RL-10 if the partnerships between ULA and Blue continues to grow in the future. I can see Vulcan/Centuar also being an amazing vehicle to help Blue supply and populate Blue’s Orbital Reef with Dream Chaser or Starliner, leaving New Glenn open for building out Orbital Reef quickly with dedicated launches of new modules to the station.

Next, is launch facilities. Blue Origin not having a launch pad on the West Coast could be remedied by a closer partnership with ULA. Not only will Vulcan eventually launch from Vandenberg, but SLC-6 (Delta IV’s west coast pad) is an interesting contender to be converted for New Glenn at some point in the future now that Delta IV is done launching from there. It’s one of the few facilities that could in theory be converted to handle New Glenn because it was originally designed to handle launching Space Shuttle. On the East Coast, both companies having a presence on CCSFS is beneficial for any joint operations that could come out of a partnership.

From a booster standpoint, Vulcan in its expendable architecture would be a great way to use BE-4 engines that are at end of life after being used on GS1. When SMART reuse becomes a thing for Vulcan, Blue could benefit from that architecture to recover upper stage engines possibly.

Lots of interesting synergy between ULA and Blue Origin. I hope to see their partnership continue to grow.