Blue Origin New Glenn: Bezos's Heavy-Lift Answer to SpaceX
New Glenn is the largest rocket Blue Origin has ever built — a partially reusable two-stage heavy-lifter. Here's how it works, what it launches, and how it stacks up against Falcon Heavy.
New Glenn is Blue Origin's heavy-lift orbital rocket — named after astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. It is Blue Origin's answer to Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy: a partially reusable two-stage rocket designed to carry large payloads to orbit, including for NASA, the Department of Defense, and commercial constellations.
New Glenn specifications
- Height
- 98 m (322 ft)
- Diameter
- 7 m (23 ft)
- First-stage engines
- 7 BE-4 (LNG/LOX)
- Second-stage engines
- 2 BE-3U (LH2/LOX)
- Liftoff thrust
- 17.1 MN (3.85 million lbf)
- Payload to LEO
- ~45,000 kg
- Payload to GTO
- ~13,600 kg
- First-stage reusability
- 25 missions per booster (designed)
The BE-4 engine — and why it matters
New Glenn is powered by the BE-4 engine, the first U.S.-built large methane/oxygen engine to fly on an orbital rocket. BE-4 also powers ULA's Vulcan Centaur, making it strategically important well beyond Blue Origin. Each BE-4 produces roughly 2.4 MN of thrust at sea level. Seven of them give New Glenn substantial first-stage power.
New Glenn first flight
New Glenn flew its first mission in January 2025. The flight reached orbit on the first attempt — a major feat — and the second stage successfully delivered its demonstration payload. The first-stage booster recovery attempt did not succeed on the maiden flight; subsequent missions have refined the recovery profile. Like Falcon 9, New Glenn boosters are recovered on a downrange ocean-going landing platform.
What New Glenn launches
- Project Kuiper satellites (Amazon's broadband constellation, requiring dozens of New Glenn flights)
- NASA missions including the EscaPADE Mars probes
- Department of Defense / National Security Space Launch (NSSL) missions
- Commercial GEO communications satellites
- Future crewed Blue Origin missions (Blue Moon lunar lander, eventually crewed)
New Glenn vs Falcon Heavy
Falcon Heavy still beats New Glenn on raw lift to LEO (about 64 t expendable vs ~45 t reusable for New Glenn). But New Glenn has a 7-meter fairing — significantly wider than the Falcon Heavy 5.2 m fairing — letting it carry physically larger payloads like big antennas and certain space-station modules.
Frequently asked questions
When did New Glenn first launch?
New Glenn made its successful maiden orbital flight in January 2025 from Cape Canaveral.
Is New Glenn reusable?
The first stage is designed for reuse — recovered on a downrange ocean platform — and Blue Origin targets up to 25 flights per booster. The second stage is expendable on most missions.
How does New Glenn compare to Falcon 9?
New Glenn is much larger than Falcon 9 — closer to Falcon Heavy in lift capacity, with a much wider 7 m fairing for oversized payloads.
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