Blue Origin unveils super-heavy version of New Glenn rocket taller than Saturn V

Fresh off a completely successful second flight of its new giant rocket, Jeff Bezos’ space company Blue Origin has unveiled a design for an even larger version of its launch system. The new look New Glenn will be even taller than the historic Saturn V rocket, making it on par with SpaceX’s Starship.

This super-heavy version of New Glenn is equipped with nine of the company’s rocket engines in the booster stage and four in the upper stage. This is up from the current versions of seven and two aircraft, respectively, and Blue Origin says they will continue to fly alongside the superheavy aircraft. Blue Origin currently calls these two versions New Glenn 9×4 and New Glenn 7×2.

This additional firepower will increase the total thrust of the New Glenn booster, allowing it to carry “more than 70 tons” to low orbit, just below Starship’s current theoretical capacity of 100 tons. SpaceX is working on a new version of Starship that could double this number.

The larger New Glenn has a much larger fairing (a forward-facing shield that covers the rocket’s payload) to allow for a larger payload on top of the rocket. The added capabilities will allow Blue Origin to be used for missions focused on “national security priorities such as giant constellations, lunar and deep space exploration, and the Golden Dome.”

Blue Origin is currently competing with SpaceX to support NASA’s mission to the moon, and the company clearly teased this capability in a rendering of the New Glenn 9×4 released on Thursday.

This diagram shows a theoretical view of a new superheavy rocket looking up from the ground just after takeoff. Does it look bigger than usual on the rocket? month.

The 7×2 version of New Glenn also received some updates on Thursday. Total thrust has been increased and now equipped with a reusable fairing. Blue Origin said other minor upgrades were also made to reduce time to launch.

The company has not yet set a date for its next launch, but it currently appears set for early 2026. Blue Origin may soon attempt to launch and land an unmanned lunar lander, Blue Moon Mark 1, on the moon, CEO Dave Limp said.