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New Glenn

New Glenn is a family of launch vehicles developed and operated by the American company Blue Origin. The rocket has two configurations, one operational and one under development, both using a two stage partially reusable design with a seven-meter (23 ft) diameter.

Development of New Glenn began prior to 2013 and was officially announced in 2016. The rocket is named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The inaugural vehicle was unveiled on the launch pad in February 2024. Its first flight took place on January 16, 2025, from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36. Carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder,[10] the launch served as the first of several demonstration flights required for certification for the National Security Space Launch program.

As with Blue Origin's suborbital New Shepard rocket, New Glenn's first stage is designed for reuse. It lands at sea on a modified barge called Landing Platform Vessel 1. On November 13, 2025, the first stage achieved its first successful landing following New Glenn's second flight. New Glenn is scheduled to launch Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander on robotic missions planned for early 2026 and late 2027.

The original version of New Glenn, or New Glenn 7×2, is a heavy-lift launch vehicle. The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, while the second stage uses two BE-3U engines, both designed and built by Blue Origin. It launches from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36, with future missions planned from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 9. It is one of three operational US heavy-lift rockets, alongside United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Centaur and SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.

A super heavy-lift version called New Glenn 9×4 is in development as of 2025. It features nine BE-4 engines on the first stage, four BE-3U engines on the second stage, and an enlarged payload fairing measuring 8.7 m in diameter.

History

After initiating the development of an orbital rocket system prior to 2012, and stating in 2013 on their website that the first stage would do a powered vertical landing and be reusable, Blue Origin publicly announced their orbital launch vehicle intentions in September 2015. In January 2016, Blue Origin indicated that the new rocket would be many times larger than New Shepard even though it would be the smallest of the family of Blue Origin orbital vehicles. Blue Origin publicly released the high-level design of the vehicle and announced the name New Glenn—with both two-stage and three-stage variants planned—in September 2016.

Early design work on orbital subsystems

Blue Origin began developing systems for orbital human spacecraft before 2012. A reusable first-stage booster was designed to fly a suborbital trajectory, taking off vertically like the booster stage of a conventional multistage launch vehicle. After stage separation, the upper stage would continue to propel astronauts into orbit, while the first-stage booster would descend to perform a powered vertical landing, similar to its New Shepard suborbital vehicle. From the earliest design concepts, the first-stage booster was intended to be refueled and relaunched to reduce the costs of access to space.

The booster launch vehicle was projected to lift Blue Origin's biconic Space Vehicle capsule to orbit, carrying astronauts and supplies. After completing its mission in orbit, the Space Vehicle was also conceptually designed to reenter Earth's atmosphere and land under parachutes on land, to be reused on future missions.

Engine testing for the then-named Reusable Booster System launch vehicle began in 2012. A full-power test of the thrust chamber for Blue Origin BE-3 liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen upper-stage rocket engine (BE-3U) was conducted on a stand at the John C. Stennis Space Center (NASA test facility) in October 2012. The chamber successfully achieved full thrust of 100000 lbf. By early 2018,[11] it was announced that the BE-3U hydrolox engine would power the second stage of the New Glenn.

Development

Design work on the vehicle began in 2012, with the beginning of BE-4 engine development. Further plans for an orbital launch vehicle were made public in 2015. In mid-2016, the launch vehicle was briefly referred to publicly by the placeholder name of "Very Big Brother". It was stated to be a two-stage-to-orbit liquid-propellant rocket, with the launcher intended to be reusable. In early 2016, Blue Origin indicated that the first orbital launch was expected no earlier than 2020 from the Florida launch facility, and in September 2017 continued to forecast a 2020 debut. In a February 2016 interview, Blue Origin president Rob Meyerson referred to engine development and orbital launch vehicle milestones.[12][13]

The vehicle itself, and the high-level specifications, were initially publicly unveiled in September 2016. New Glenn was described as a 7 m diameter, two- or three-stage rocket, with the first and second stages being liquid methane/liquid oxygen (methalox) designs using Blue Origin engines. The first stage is planned to be reusable and will land vertically, just like the New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle that has been flying suborbitally since the mid-2010s. Although these plans would subsequently change, the 2016 plans called for the first stage to be powered by seven of Blue Origin's BE-4 single-shaft oxygen-rich staged combustion liquid methane/liquid oxygen rocket engines, the second-stage to be powered by a single vacuum-variant of the BE-4 (BE-4U) and the third stage to use a single BE-3 hydrolox engine. In 2016, the first stage was planned to be designed to be reused for up to 100 flights.[5] Blue Origin announced that they intended to launch the rocket from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36), and manufacture the launch vehicles at a new facility to be built on nearby land in Exploration Park. Acceptance testing of the BE-4 engines was also announced to be planned for Florida.

Blue Origin explained in the September 12, 2016, announcement that the rocket would be named New Glenn in honor of the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, with an inaugural flight planned no earlier than 2020.[14] Three weeks of wind tunnel testing of a scale model New Glenn were completed in September 2016 in order to validate the CFD design models of transonic and supersonic flight.[15][16]

In March 2017, Jeff Bezos showed graphics of the New Glenn which had two large strakes at the bottom of the booster.[17] In the September 2017 announcement, Blue Origin announced a much larger payload fairing for New Glenn, this one 7 m in diameter, up from 5.4 m in the originally announced design.[18]

By March 2018, the launch vehicle design had changed. It was announced that the New Glenn second stage would now be powered by two vacuum versions of the flight proven BE-3 liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen rocket engine (BE-3U) with a single BE-3U engine for the third stage deep space option. The three-stage booster variant was subsequently cancelled completely in January 2019.[19] By mid-2018, the low-level design was not yet complete and the likelihood of achieving an initial launch by 2020 was being called into question by company engineers, customers, industry experts, and journalists.[20][21] In October 2018, the Air Force announced Blue Origin was awarded $500 million for development of New Glenn as a potential competitor in future contracts, including Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Phase 2.[22] The October 2018 award was terminated in December 2020 after Blue received $255.5 million of the $500 million.[23]

By February 2019, several launches for New Glenn had been contracted: five for OneWeb, an unspecified amount of Telesat, one each for Eutelsat, mu Space Corp and SKY Perfect JSAT.[24][18][25] In February 2019, Blue Origin indicated that no plans to build a reusable second stage were on the company's roadmap. In the event, by July 2021, Blue Origin was again evaluating options for getting to a reusable second-stage design: Project Jarvis.

In August 2020 the Air Force announced that New Glenn was not selected for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch procurement. Due to this, in February 2021 Blue Origin announced that the first flight would slip to no earlier than late 2022.[23]

By December 2020, Blue Origin indicated that the BE-4 engine delivery to United Launch Alliance (ULA) would slip to summer 2021, and ULA disclosed that the first launch of the New Glenn competitor ULA Vulcan Centaur would now be no earlier than 4Q 2021.[26] Blue Origin announced a further schedule slip for the first launch of New Glenn in March 2021 when the company said New Glenn "would not launch until the fourth quarter of 2022, at the earliest".[27]

By 2021, Blue had changed the published reuse specification for New Glenn to a minimum of 25 flights,[28] from the previous design intent of 2016 to support up to 100 flights.[5]

In March 2022, the expected first launch of New Glenn slipped to no earlier than Q4 2023.[29]

In January 2024, the first stage of New Glenn was being transported at Kennedy Space Center from the factory to the launch complex in preparation for a 2024 launch.[30]

In February 2024, a boilerplate of both the first and second stages of New Glenn was erected on launch pad LC-36 for the first time. This test vehicle was not in flight-ready condition and had no functioning engines mounted.[31] In May 2024, New Glenn was rolled out again for additional testing prior to a planned launch later in the year.[32]

Reusable upper stage

Information became public in July 2021 that Blue Origin had begun a "project to develop a fully reusable upper stage for New Glenn", under the name "Project Jarvis", just as SpaceX is aiming to do with their Starship second stage. If Blue Origin is able to realize such a second stage design and bring it into operational use, New Glenn would become a fully-reusable launch vehicle and would benefit from a substantial reduction in cost per launch.[33]

Beyond the technical changes indicated, Bezos created a new management structure for the new efforts, walling off "parts of the second-stage development program from the rest of Blue Origin [telling] its leaders to innovate in an environment unfettered by rigorous management and paperwork processes".[33] Part of the effort is focusing on developing a stainless steel propellant tank and main structure for the second stage rocket, and evaluating it as a part of a solution for a complete second stage system. In August 2021, Blue Origin moved a stainless steel test tank to their Launch Complex 36 facility, where ground pressure testing with cryogenic propellants was to take place.[34] Following the January 2025 successful maiden flight, Ars Technica reported that Project Jarvis had been shelved.[35]

Blue Origin set up another team in 2021 to focus on design approaches that might be used to make a New Glenn second stage reusable, something that was not a design objective for the original second stage planned for New Glenn prior to 2021. As of August 2021, three approaches were being explored: adding wings to allow the stage to operate as a spaceplane on reentry similar to the Space Shuttle; using an aerospike engine on the second stage that could double as a heat shield on reentry similar to Stoke Space's Nova project; and using high-drag flaps and TPS on one side similar to SpaceX's Starship. A decision on which approach to take into full development was slated for late 2021.[34]

In September 2024, Bezos said that Blue Origin was investigating aluminum or stainless steel construction and thermal protection systems for a reusable second stage, but that the expendable second stage was also continuing development and if it proved cheaper, efforts for the former would end.[36]

Reusable upper stage

Information became public in July 2021 that Blue Origin had begun a "project to develop a fully reusable upper stage for New Glenn", under the name "Project Jarvis", just as SpaceX is aiming to do with their Starship second stage. If Blue Origin is able to realize such a second stage design and bring it into operational use, New Glenn would become a fully-reusable launch vehicle and would benefit from a substantial reduction in cost per launch.[33]

Beyond the technical changes indicated, Bezos created a new management structure for the new efforts, walling off "parts of the second-stage development program from the rest of Blue Origin [telling] its leaders to innovate in an environment unfettered by rigorous management and paperwork processes".[33] Part of the effort is focusing on developing a stainless steel propellant tank and main structure for the second stage rocket, and evaluating it as a part of a solution for a complete second stage system. In August 2021, Blue Origin moved a stainless steel test tank to their Launch Complex 36 facility, where ground pressure testing with cryogenic propellants was to take place.[34] Following the January 2025 successful maiden flight, Ars Technica reported that Project Jarvis had been shelved.[35]

Blue Origin set up another team in 2021 to focus on design approaches that might be used to make a New Glenn second stage reusable, something that was not a design objective for the original second stage planned for New Glenn prior to 2021. As of August 2021, three approaches were being explored: adding wings to allow the stage to operate as a spaceplane on reentry similar to the Space Shuttle; using an aerospike engine on the second stage that could double as a heat shield on reentry similar to Stoke Space's Nova project; and using high-drag flaps and TPS on one side similar to SpaceX's Starship. A decision on which approach to take into full development was slated for late 2021.[34]

In September 2024, Bezos said that Blue Origin was investigating aluminum or stainless steel construction and thermal protection systems for a reusable second stage, but that the expendable second stage was also continuing development and if it proved cheaper, efforts for the former would end.[36]

Inaugural launch

On June 12, 2024, Blue Origin received its communications license for the inaugural flight of New Glenn.[37] The vehicle was selected for the U.S. NSSL program with expectation that the inaugural launch would occur no later than December 2024.[38]

Preparations began in earnest in late August for what was to be New Glenn's debut launch, carrying the ESCAPADE mission consisting of two Photon satellites destined for Mars on a VADR contract from NASA.[39] After consultation with NASA, both parties was decided to forgo the October launch window to avoid "significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges", as well as the risks of removing fuel from the vehicle in the event of a launch delay.[40]

As of September 2024, the debut launch was planned to be a demonstration launch for the United States Space Force's National Security Space Launch program, carrying the Blue Ring Pathfinder[10]. The booster for the flight was named So You're Telling Me There's a Chance, alluding to the difficulty of landing a reusable booster on the first attempt.[41]

Testing continued in October 2024 with successful hot fire tests of the second stage.[42] The completed first stage (GS1) moved to the launchpad on October 30, 2024, ahead of the first flight.[43]

The Flight 1 vehicle was moved to the launchpad on November 20, 2024, for static fire testing.[44] Full wet dress rehearsal occurred on December 19, 2024,[45] and a 24-second static fire was conducted on December 27.[46]

On January 13, 2025, Blue Origin conducted their first launch attempt with the vehicle. After several slips in the countdown, the attempt was scrubbed at approximately 3:05 AM EST (0805 UTC).[47]

On January 16, 2025, 2:03 AM EST (0703 UTC), New Glenn launched for the first time.[48] Blue Origin reached orbit on its first attempt, injecting the GS-2 upper stage and the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload into medium earth orbit. Blue Origin stated that GS-1, the first stage of New Glenn, was lost on descent. Telemetry showed that the booster was traveling at an approximate speed of Mach 5.5 at an altitude of 84,226 ft (25.7 km) before it was deemed lost.[49][50]

Following the unsuccessful landing, a mishap investigation into the atmospheric reentry of the returning booster was led by Blue Origin, with the involvement and review by the FAA.[51] This investigation was successfully completed by March 31, 2025.[52]

First recovery via Landing Platform Vessel 1

On November 13, 2025, the first stage of the New Glenn rocket named "Never Tell Me the Odds" successfully landed on the Landing Platform Vessel Jacklyn positioned 375 miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. This made Blue Origin the second company, behind SpaceX and its Falcon rockets, to successfully deploy a spacecraft in orbit while landing the vehicle's booster.[53][54]

New Glenn 9×4

On November 20, 2025, Blue Origin announced the development of a new super heavy-lift version of New Glenn, designated New Glenn 9×4.[55] The variant will use nine BE-4 engines on its first stage and four BE-3U engines on its second stage. According to the company, it will be capable of launching more than 70000 kg to Low Earth orbit, over 14000 kg on a direct insertion to geosynchronous orbit, and more than 20000 kg to a trans-lunar injection trajectory. It will also feature an enlarged payload fairing measuring 8.7 m in diameter.[56][57]

An image released by Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp depicted the New Glenn 9×4 as taller than the Saturn V.[56][57] While the company did not provide an official timeline, media reports indicated that the variant could enter service as early as 2027. Blue Origin stated that both the 7×2 and 9×4 versions of the rocket are intended to operate concurrently. Media reports also noted that the 9×4 configuration would offer lift capacity approaching that of NASA's Space Launch System Block 1 rocket while retaining a reusable first stage and a larger payload fairing, and could cost less than one-tenth as much per launch.[56]

Description and technical specifications

New Glenn is a 7 m diameter two-stage orbital launch vehicle with a reusable first stage and an expendable second stage.[58] An optional third stage was envisaged with a single BE-3U engine, and was planned as of October 2018.

The first stage (GS1[59]) is designed to be reusable for a minimum of 25 flights,[28] and lands vertically, a technology previously developed by Blue Origin and tested in 2015–2016 on its New Shepard suborbital launch vehicle. The second stage (GS2[59][60]) shares the same diameter and is "roughly 88 feet (26.8 meters) tall"[61] and is expendable. Both stages use orthogrid aluminum tanks with welded aluminum domes and common bulkheads. Both stages also use autogenous pressurization.

The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 methane/oxygen engines—designed and manufactured by Blue Origin—producing 17000 kN of liftoff thrust. Its liquid oxygen propellant tank has a volume of 30000 cuft while the fuel tank can store almost 25000 cuft of liquid methane.[62] The second stage is powered by two BE-3U vacuum optimized engines, also designed and manufactured by Blue Origin, using hydrogen/oxygen as propellants.

The company stated in 2019 that the planned full operational payload capacity of the two-stage version of New Glenn would be 13000 kg to GTO and 45000 kg to a 51.6° inclined LEO,[65] though the initial operating capability could be somewhat lower.[66] As of 2018, dual-satellite launches were intended to be offered after the first five flights.[67]

Launches of New Glenn are made from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) leased to Blue Origin in 2015 in support of the New Glenn program. On April 14, 2026, Blue Origin and the U.S. Space Force announced plans to give New Glenn polar orbit capabilities through building a West Coast launch facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, to be called Space Launch Complex 14 (SLC-14).[68]

The first stage boosters of New Glenn are intended to be reusable, and were originally intended to be recovered downrange on the Atlantic Ocean via their landing platform ship Jacklyn, which would have acted as a floating movable landing platform. The hydrodynamically stabilized ship would have increased the likelihood of successful recovery in rough seas.[69] That ship was scrapped, and a new landing barge named Landing Platform Vessel 1, also nicknamed Jacklyn, was commissioned and became operational in 2024.

Manufacturing

The main assembly of the New Glenn launch vehicle will occur in the Blue Origin rocket manufacturing facility in Florida, near Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) which the company leased from Spaceport Florida. Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) has hosted more than 100 launches, formerly launching the Atlas II and Atlas III rockets.[70][71]

Tooling and equipment for the factory began to be ordered and built in 2015. In July 2018, the build of the largest device, a 16 m tall × 41 m long × 13 m wide Ingersoll "Mongoose" cryogenic-tank and fairing fabrication machine, was completed after a three-year design/build process. It was to be installed in the Florida facility in Exploration Park later in 2018.[72] As of September 2018, Blue Origin had invested over $1 billion in its Florida manufacturing facility and launch site, and stated it intended to spend much more going forward.[69][73]

Launch services

Blue Origin planned as of 2018 to offer both single-payload dedicated flights and, after the fifth launch, dual-manifesting of large communications satellites to be transported to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). All contracted launches from the start will feature a reusable first stage, so just like the practice in commercial aircraft transport, landing conditions can affect the timing and flight parameters of a launch.

Launch service customers

By 2018, Blue Origin had contracts in place with four customers for New Glenn flights. Eutelsat, Thailand startup mu Space Corp and SKY Perfect JSAT have geosynchronous orbit communications satellite launches planned after 2020, while internet satellite constellation fleet operator OneWeb had an agreement by 2018 for five launches.[74][25][75]

In January 2019, Telesat signed a multi-launch contract "to launch satellites for its future low-Earth-orbit broadband constellation on multiple New Glenn missions" and thus is Blue Origin's fifth customer.[76]

In 2022, Amazon announced that it had contracted 12 flights of New Glenn, with an option for 15 more, for deployment of the Kuiper satellite constellation.[77]

In February 2023, NASA announced that it had selected Blue Origin to launch the ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars.[78] In May 2024, it was announced the spacecraft had reached substantial completion in preparation for launch later in the year;[79] however NASA subsequently moved the ESCAPADE payload from the first flight of New Glenn to a later flight of the rocket.[80]

In November 2024, AST SpaceMobile selected Blue Origin to launch some of its Block 2 satellites. This launch in April 2026 resulted in a failure of the satellite deployment due to the upper stage malfunction of the New Glenn.[81][82]

In April 2025, Space Systems Command awarded a National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 2 contract to Blue Origin. As the third provider, Blue Origin is projected to be awarded 7 flights, with an anticipated value of $2.4 billion.

Schedule-oriented launch cadence

Blue Origin intends to contract its launch services in a different structure compared to contract options that have been traditionally offered in the commercial launch market. The company has stated they will contract to aim to have a regular launch cadence of up to eight launches a year. If one of the payload providers for a multi-payload launch is not ready on time, Blue stated in 2018 that they intended to hold to the launch timeframe, and fly the remaining payloads on time at no increase in price.[83] This is different from how dual-launch manifested contracts have been traditionally handled by Arianespace (Ariane 5 and Ariane 6) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (H-IIA and H3). SpaceX and International Launch Services can offer dual-launch contracts, but prefer dedicated missions.[83]

Funding

The development and manufacture of the New Glenn is being funded by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon,[84] and the Department of the Air Force. Initially funded entirely by Bezos, after 2019 New Glenn will also receive $500 million in funding under the United States Space Force National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program.[85] By September 2017, Bezos had invested $2.5 billion into New Glenn.[18]

Launch history

Statistics

List of launches

Planned launches

See also

  • List of New Glenn launches
  • List of New Glenn boosters
  • Space launch market competition
  • Falcon Heavy (SpaceX)
  • Ariane 6 (Arianespace)
  • Vulcan Centaur (United Launch Alliance)
  • SpaceX Starship
  • Space Launch System (NASA/Boeing), not intended for commercial satellite launch
  • Saturn C-3 (1962 NASA Saturn design for Apollo EOR), same lift capacity
  • Comparison of orbital launch systems
  • Comparison of orbital launcher families
  • Blue Origin recovery vessel

External links

References

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