Following the success of New Glenn’s second test flight, Blue Origin announced a super-heavy variant of its rocket that could compete with SpaceX’s Starship.
Jeff Bezos’ rocket company unveiled the new design for its rocket, named New Glenn 9×4 for the number of engines it boasts on the booster and upper stage. That’s an increase of two engines for each stage from New Glenn’s current design, which features seven engines on the booster and two on the upper stage.
“The next chapter in New Glenn’s roadmap is a new super-heavy class rocket,” Blue Origin wrote in a statement. The company recently launched New Glenn for its second mission, sending NASA’s ESCAPADE mission on its way to Mars. Although Blue Origin didn’t specify when it would start launching the larger variant of New Glenn, the rocket has a packed schedule for 2026 and 2027.
Onto bigger things
Blue Origin debuted its New Glenn rocket in January after years of delays. The rocket’s inaugural flight didn’t go so smoothly, with the company failing to recover the booster during its descent. An investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration laid out seven corrective measures for the rocket to fly again, and its second mission was a major success for the company.
Now, Blue Origin is focusing on going bigger. Outfitted with nine engines on the booster and four on the upper stage, the added thrust will allow the new New Glenn to lift more than 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, over 14 metric tons directly to geosynchronous orbit, and over 20 metric tons to trans-lunar injection. That’s way below Starship’s capability of carrying up to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit, but it’s a powerful launch vehicle nonetheless.
The upgraded New Glenn will also feature a larger 28.5-foot (8.7-meter) fairing to allow for bigger payloads. “Both vehicles: 9×4 and our current variant, 7×2, will serve the market concurrently, giving customers more launch options for their missions, including mega-constellations, lunar and deep space exploration, and national security imperatives such as Golden Dome,” Blue Origin wrote.
Because you asked… pic.twitter.com/HRbQjRpHWC
— Dave Limp (@davill) November 20, 2025
Dave Limp, Blue Origin’s CEO, posted an illustration of the upgraded New Glenn standing taller next to the Saturn V rocket that was used to launch astronauts to the Moon as part of NASA’s Apollo program. New Glenn 9×4 also appears much larger than its predecessor.
The success of New Glenn’s second flight proved the rocket’s worthiness in the orbital launch game. With the super-heavy variant of its New Glenn rocket, Blue Origin will be able to compete with SpaceX on an even larger scale.
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