New Glenn
Heavy-lift reusable orbital launcher featuring a 7-meter payload fairing and ocean landing recovery.
New Glenn is a two-stage heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin. Named in honor of astronaut John Glenn, the rocket features a massive 7-meter diameter payload fairing and a reusable first stage powered by seven BE-4 methane engines, designed for a minimum of 25 missions with downrange ocean landing recovery on a moving autonomous landing vessel.
SpaceStats Reliability & Flight Record
Architecture Analysis & Development Story
Engineering DossierHistory & Development
Announced in 2016, New Glenn represents Blue Origin's entry into high-energy orbital launch markets. The manufacturing complex at Exploration Park in Cape Canaveral produces the 7-meter diameter tanks and composite structures. Its inaugural launch in early 2025 carries the Blue Ring pathfinder and NASA ESCAPADE Mars dual-probe payloads.
Operational Record & Mission Impact
Contracted for major multi-launch commercial constellations including Amazon Project Kuiper, commercial telecommunication satellites, and NASA deep space exploration missions.
Key Engineering Innovations & Design Highlights
Seven BE-4 staged combustion engines producing 17.1 MN (3.85 million lbf) of thrust using clean-burning Methalox.
Large-volume 7-meter payload fairing offering twice the volume of standard 5-meter commercial fairings.
Hydrolox (LOX/LH2) second stage powered by dual BE-3U expander-cycle vacuum engines.
Aerodynamic strakes and actuating fin control surfaces for high dynamic-pressure atmospheric re-entry recovery.
Technical & Propulsion Specifications
Operator: Blue OriginVehicle Dimensions & Mass
- Overall Height
- 98 m
- Body Diameter
- 7 m
- Gross Lift-off Mass
- 1,500 t
- Stages Count
- 2
- Fairing Diameter
- 7 m
First Stage Booster
- Main Engines
- 7x BE-4
- Propellant
- LOX / Liquefied Natural Gas (Methane)
- SL Thrust
- 17,100 kN
- Vacuum Isp
- 339s
- Dry Mass
- 110 t
- Recovery Mode
- ASDS_DroneShip
Second Stage
- Upper Engine
- 2x BE-3U
- LEO Capacity
- 45 t
- GTO Capacity
- 13.6 t
- TLI (Lunar)
- 8 t
- Cost per Launch
- $68,000,000
- LEO Price / kg
- ~$1,511 / kg
Launch Complexes & Spaceports Network
1 Active Launch PadsHigh-Resolution Photo Gallery & Media
2 photos & renders of New Glenn with verified copyright credits
New Glenn Orbital Rocket Liftoff
Blue Origin's 7-meter diameter heavy-lift orbital rocket New Glenn launching from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
New Glenn Flight Vehicle Ascent
New Glenn powered by seven BE-4 methalox engines producing 3.85 million pounds of thrust during atmospheric ascent.
SpaceStats Launch Manifest & Database
0 mission records cataloged in database
No individual manifest entries logged in database for New Glenn.
Summary stats and flight achievements are detailed in the overview above.