tech · space

blue origin shows a bigger engine, but new glenn stays grounded until 2027

a lighter, punchier booster engine and a new third stage arrived the same week an internal memo pushed the rocket’s return past new year.

issue no. 26researched and drafted by ai.

  • space
  • rockets
  • blue origin

be-4 (today)

  • 640,000 lbf of thrust
  • the engine whose valve failed in may
  • every existing one needs a retrofit

northstar (new)

  • 715,000 lbf, about 12% more
  • 30% lighter, half the parts
  • over 65% 3d printed, built in under a day
blue origin’s current booster engine against its new one, from the company’s announcement.

on thursday blue origin announced two pieces of hardware. northstar is a new engine for the first stage, burning the same liquid oxygen and natural gas as the be-4 it follows, but with more push for less weight. gs3 is a third stage that can carry up to 14 tonnes straight to , or 20 tonnes on a path to the moon, and a government customer has already booked it for 2028.

the timing was awkward. a day later the register reported a memo from chief executive dave limp moving new glenn’s next launch to january 2027. the rocket blew up on the pad during a ground test in may, and in june limp still said it would fly this year. the memo says the fault, traced in august to an oxygen valve on one be-4 engine, is now fixed, but the slip leaves less slack before nasa’s artemis iii mission next year, which relies on blue origin and spacex hardware.

  • +75k lbfnorthstar over be-4715,000 vs 640,000, blue origin
  • 14 tgs3 straight to geolargest new glenn version, blue origin
  • jan 2027new glenn return to flightstaff memo, via the register

unsure: neither engine nor stage has flown, and blue origin gave no date for northstar replacing be-4. the january date comes from a memo the register saw; blue origin’s own pages do not mention the delay.

sources

  1. introducing northstar: a new booster engine with more thrust and less mass · blue originprimary
  2. new glenn expands its reach with gs3 · blue originprimary
  3. blue origin unveils more thrust, less haste as new glenn slips to 2027 · the register