In a bold move to expand its footprint in the commercial space industry, Blue Origin announced on November 20, 2025, a series of upgrades to its New Glenn rocket, including the development of a new super-heavy variant called New Glenn 9×4. This announcement comes on the heels of the rocket’s successful second launch just a week earlier, signaling the company’s accelerating ambitions in orbital and deep-space missions.
Background on New Glenn
Blue Origin’s New Glenn, named after astronaut John Glenn, is a heavy-lift orbital rocket that has been in development for over a decade. The original design features a reusable first stage powered by seven BE-4 engines, producing around 3.9 million pounds of thrust, and a second stage with two BE-3U engines. It made its debut launch earlier in 2025 and followed up with a mission on November 14, 2025, deploying twin probes to Mars and achieving a precise offshore landing of its booster. With a height of about 98 meters (322 feet), the rocket is designed for missions to low Earth orbit (LEO), geosynchronous orbit (GEO), and beyond, supporting customers like NASA and commercial satellite operators.
Key Upgrades to the Existing New Glenn
Before diving into the super-heavy variant, Blue Origin detailed enhancements to the current 7×2 configuration (seven engines on the booster, two on the upper stage), set to debut on the third flight (NG-3) in early 2026. These include:
- Engine Performance Boost: Through propellant subcooling, the BE-4 engines will increase individual thrust from 550,000 lbf to 640,000 lbf, raising total booster thrust to 4.5 million lbf. The BE-3U upper-stage engines will see a jump from 320,000 lbf to 400,000 lbf total.
- Reusable Fairing and Tank Design: A new reusable fairing will support higher launch rates, while an updated, lower-cost tank design and improved thermal protection system will reduce turnaround times between flights.
These changes aim to improve payload capacity, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, making New Glenn more competitive for frequent launches.
Introducing New Glenn 9×4: The Super-Heavy Powerhouse
The star of the announcement is the New Glenn 9×4, a super-heavy class rocket designed for missions requiring significantly more lift and performance. This variant ups the ante with nine BE-4 engines on the first stage and four BE-3U engines on the second, representing a substantial increase in power. It will feature a larger 8.7-meter fairing to accommodate bigger payloads, and the overall vehicle is expected to be taller than NASA’s historic Saturn V rocket, which stood at 110.6 meters (363 feet).
Specifications and Capabilities
- Payload Capacity: Over 70 metric tons to LEO (a 50% increase over the original’s approximately 45 metric tons), more than 14 metric tons directly to GEO, and over 20 metric tons to trans-lunar injection (TLI).
- Thrust: The nine BE-4 engines will generate significantly more thrust than the original, though exact figures incorporating subcooling upgrades are still being finalized.
- Applications: Targeted at mega-constellations, lunar exploration, deep-space missions, and national security payloads like the U.S. Space Force’s Golden Dome.
Blue Origin emphasized that the 9×4 will operate alongside the original variant, providing customers with flexible options rather than replacing the existing design.
Competing in a Crowded Field
This development positions Blue Origin more directly against SpaceX’s Starship, which boasts up to 150 metric tons to LEO and has been undergoing rapid testing. Starship’s Super Heavy booster produces around 17 million pounds of thrust, dwarfing New Glenn’s capabilities, but Blue Origin’s focus on reliability, reusability, and incremental upgrades could appeal to risk-averse customers like NASA and the Department of Defense. Other competitors, such as United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan and Rocket Lab’s Neutron, are also vying for market share, but New Glenn 9×4’s scale aims to bridge the gap between heavy and super-heavy classes.
CEO Dave Limp shared digital renderings of the 9×4, highlighting its imposing stature and potential for transformative missions. The company, backed by Jeff Bezos’ billions, has invested heavily in New Glenn, overcoming delays to achieve orbital flights in 2025.
Future Implications and Roadmap
While no specific timeline was given for the 9×4’s first flight, Blue Origin indicated it would build on the lessons from ongoing New Glenn operations. The upgrades to the current rocket will roll out imminently, with NG-3 incorporating the enhanced engines and components to boost performance for upcoming payloads.
This announcement underscores Blue Origin’s commitment to reusable rocketry and multi-planet ambitions, aligning with broader industry trends toward sustainable space access. As competition heats up, the New Glenn family could play a pivotal role in enabling the next era of space exploration, from lunar bases to Mars colonization.
With these advancements, Blue Origin is not just catching up – it’s aiming to lead in the super-heavy lift category.
