Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, is on the cusp of revolutionizing the space industry with its highly anticipated New Glenn rocket. Named after the first American astronaut to orbit Earth, John Glenn, this massive launch vehicle is set to become a key player in both commercial and government space missions. As Blue Origin prepares for New Glenn’s maiden flight, the space community eagerly awaits the impact this rocket will have on the future of space exploration and commercialization.
The development of New Glenn represents a significant milestone for Blue Origin, as the company transitions from its successful suborbital New Shepard program to the realm of orbital spaceflight. With its impressive capabilities and focus on reusability, New Glenn is expected to compete with industry giants such as SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, while also supporting Blue Origin’s long-term vision for space habitation and lunar exploration.
Design and Specifications
New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle that stands an impressive 322 feet (98 meters) tall, making it one of the largest rockets ever built. The rocket features a 23-foot (7-meter) diameter payload fairing, offering twice the volume of traditional five-meter class fairings. This spacious fairing can accommodate payloads as large as three school buses, enabling the launch of larger satellites and spacecraft.
The rocket is powered by seven BE-4 engines on its first stage, which are fueled by liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. These powerful engines, also designed and manufactured by Blue Origin, provide the thrust necessary to lift the rocket’s payload capacity of 45 metric tons (99,000 pounds) to low Earth orbit and 13 metric tons (28,000 pounds) to geostationary transfer orbit.
Source: Blue Origin
The BE-4 engines are a testament to Blue Origin’s in-house engineering capabilities. Each engine generates 550,000 pounds (2,446 kilonewtons) of thrust at sea level, making them one of the most powerful liquid-fueled rocket engines in operation. The use of liquefied natural gas as a fuel is also a unique choice, offering several advantages over traditional rocket propellants, such as increased efficiency and reduced cost.
New Glenn’s second stage is powered by a single vacuum-optimized BE-3U engine, which is an upgraded version of the BE-3 engine used on the New Shepard rocket. This engine provides the necessary thrust to propel payloads to their desired orbits and has been designed for multiple restarts, enabling complex mission profiles and orbital maneuvers.
Reusability and Cost-Effectiveness
One of the most significant features of the New Glenn rocket is its reusability. The first stage is designed to be used for a minimum of 25 flights, with the ability to land vertically, similar to the technology demonstrated by Blue Origin’s suborbital New Shepard rocket. This reusability is crucial in reducing the cost per launch and making access to space more affordable for a wide range of customers.
Source: Blue Origin
By landing the first stage on a sea-based platform approximately 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) downrange from the launch site, Blue Origin can efficiently recover and refurbish the booster for future missions. This approach, combined with the rocket’s impressive payload capacity, positions New Glenn as a strong competitor in the commercial launch market.
Blue Origin’s focus on reusability extends beyond the first stage. The company is also exploring the possibility of recovering and reusing the payload fairing, which would further reduce launch costs. Additionally, Blue Origin is investing in advanced manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, to streamline production and reduce the time and cost associated with building rocket components.
Launch Facilities and Manufacturing
Blue Origin has invested heavily in its infrastructure to support the development and launch of the New Glenn rocket. The company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, located in Florida’s Exploration Park near the Kennedy Space Center, houses New Glenn’s fabrication, integration, and operations facilities.
The 750,000-square-foot (69,677-square-meter) facility is equipped with advanced machinery and tools, including one of the largest friction stir welding machines in the world. This machine, capable of welding aluminum panels up to 20 feet (6 meters) wide and 50 feet (15 meters) long, is used to construct New Glenn’s massive propellant tanks and other large structures.
Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral, just nine miles from the manufacturing facility, has been completely rebuilt by Blue Origin to accommodate New Glenn launches. The complex features a new launch pad, vehicle integration facilities, and a dedicated mission control center. LC-36’s proximity to the manufacturing site streamlines the process of building, integrating, launching, and refurbishing the rocket.
Blue Origin has also constructed a new test stand at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, specifically designed for testing the BE-4 engines. This state-of-the-art facility allows for extensive testing and validation of the engines before they are integrated into the New Glenn rocket, ensuring their reliability and performance.
Missions and Customers
New Glenn has already attracted a diverse range of customers, including commercial satellite operators, and government agencies. The rocket’s first flight is scheduled for 2024.
Blue Origin has secured contracts with customers such as NASA, Eutelsat, Telesat, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper, which aims to provide global broadband internet access through a constellation of satellites. The company is also seeking certification from the U.S. Space Force for national security launches, further expanding New Glenn’s potential mission portfolio.
Blue Origin’s commitment to providing reliable and cost-effective access to space has also attracted interest from the scientific community. The rocket’s large payload capacity and flexible mission capabilities make it an attractive option for launching scientific instruments, space telescopes, and other research payloads. As New Glenn begins operations, it is expected to play a significant role in advancing our understanding of Earth, the solar system, and the universe beyond.
Comparison to Other Heavy-Lift Rockets
New Glenn enters the market alongside other heavy-lift rockets, such as SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, ULA’s Vulcan Centaur, and NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).
Falcon Heavy
While the Falcon Heavy has a slightly higher payload capacity to low Earth orbit, New Glenn’s larger fairing and ability to deliver heavier payloads to higher orbits in reusable mode, set it apart.
Space Launch System (SLS)
Compared to the SLS, which is primarily designed for deep space exploration and Artemis missions, New Glenn offers a more flexible and cost-effective solution for a wider range of commercial and government payloads. The SLS’s focus on human spaceflight and its unique capabilities, such as the ability to launch the Orion spacecraft, make it a complementary vehicle to New Glenn rather than a direct competitor.
Vulcan Centaur
The Blue Origin New Glenn and United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Centaur rockets, while both being next-generation heavy-lift vehicles designed for launching commercial and government payloads, differ in their size and capabilities. New Glenn is significantly larger, standing 321 feet (98 meters) tall with a diameter of 23 feet (7 meters). In comparison, Vulcan Centaur is 202 feet (61.6 meters) tall with a diameter of 17.7 feet (5.4 meters). This makes New Glenn about 60% taller and 30% wider than Vulcan Centaur.
In terms of payload capacity, New Glenn is more capable, designed to lift 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit (LEO) and 13 metric tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) in a reusable configuration. Vulcan Centaur, on the other hand, is expected to deliver 27.2 metric tons to LEO and 14.4 metric tons to GTO in an expendable configuration. Another key difference lies in their approach to reusability – New Glenn’s first stage is designed to land vertically on a ship for reuse, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9, while Vulcan Centaur will initially fly as an expendable vehicle, with plans to eventually recover and reuse the BE-4 engines using parachutes and mid-air capture.
What about Starship?
While it’s natural to compare the New Glenn and Starship rockets since they are both large, partially or fully reusable vehicles under development by leading private space companies, a direct comparison is not entirely fair or apt given their significant differences in size, capabilities and design philosophies.
Firstly, Starship is a much larger vehicle – when stacked with the Super Heavy booster it stands about 120 meters tall, while New Glenn is 98 meters tall. Starship also has a wider diameter of 9 meters compared to New Glenn’s 7 meters. So they are in quite different size classes.
Secondly, Starship has a much higher payload capacity, being able to lift 100-150 tons to low Earth orbit in a fully reusable configuration, with a potential for up to 250 tons in an expendable mode. New Glenn is targeting 45 tons to LEO and 13 tons to geostationary orbit, with only the first stage being reusable.
Thirdly, the vehicles have different underlying design approaches. Starship is being designed as a versatile, multi-purpose fully reusable vehicle for missions to Earth orbit, the Moon and eventually Mars. New Glenn is a more conventional two-stage rocket optimized for launching commercial satellites and other payloads to Earth orbits.
So while both are impressive and ambitious rockets, they differ quite significantly in their technical specifications, capabilities and intended use cases. A more apt comparison for New Glenn would be SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, since they are closer in payload class and both feature partial reusability. Starship is really in a category of its own in terms of size and planned capabilities.
Future Developments and Aspirations
As Blue Origin continues to progress with New Glenn, the company is already looking towards future developments and aspirations. One such project is the potential development of a reusable second stage, which would further reduce launch costs and increase the rocket’s flexibility.
Moreover, Blue Origin’s long-term vision extends beyond Earth’s orbit, with plans to support lunar exploration through its Blue Moon lander and the development of space habitats. New Glenn’s heavy-lift capabilities will play an important role in enabling these ambitious projects and paving the way for a sustained human presence in space.
Blue Origin’s lunar ambitions align with NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon and establish a sustainable presence on its surface. The company’s Blue Moon lander is a potential solution for delivering cargo and crew to the lunar surface, and New Glenn could serve as a key launch vehicle for these missions.
Looking even further ahead, Blue Origin envisions a future where millions of people live and work in space. The company’s proposed space habitats would provide vast living spaces and Earth-like conditions for humans to thrive beyond our planet. New Glenn’s ability to launch large components and support the construction of these habitats will be essential in turning this vision into reality.
Summary
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket represents a significant leap forward in the space industry, offering a powerful, reusable, and cost-effective solution for a wide range of missions. With its impressive payload capacity, large fairing, and focus on reusability, New Glenn is poised to become a game-changer in the commercial launch market.
As the space community eagerly awaits New Glenn’s maiden flight, the rocket’s potential to revolutionize access to space and support the next generation of space exploration and commercialization is clear. Blue Origin’s commitment to innovation and its long-term vision for humanity’s future in space make New Glenn an exciting and promising addition to the world’s fleet of heavy-lift rockets.