New Glenn
The inaugural launch of New Glenn, on 16 January 2025 | |
| Function | Heavy-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Blue Origin |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Project cost | At least US$2.5 billion |
| Cost per launch | US$68–110 million |
| Size | |
| Height | 98 m (322 ft) |
| Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Stages | 2 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload to LEO | |
| Mass | 45,000 kg (99,000 lb) |
| Payload to GTO | |
| Mass | 13,600 kg (30,000 lb) |
| Payload to TLI | |
| Mass | 7,000 kg (15,000 lb) |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Cape Canaveral, LC‑36 Vandenberg, SLC‑9 (future) |
| Total launches | 1 |
| Success(es) | 1 |
| Landings | 0 / 1 attempt |
| First flight | 16 January 2025 |
| Carries passengers or cargo | |
| First stage – GS1 | |
| Height | 57.5 m (189 ft) |
| Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Empty mass | 20,000 kg (44,000 lb) |
| Gross mass | 950,000 kg (2,090,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 7 × BE-4 |
| Maximum thrust | 17,100 kN (3,850,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 340 s (3.3 km/s) (vac.) |
| Burn time | 190 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX / CH4 |
| Second stage – GS2 | |
| Height | 23.4 m (77 ft) |
| Diameter | 7 m (23 ft) |
| Empty mass | 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) |
| Gross mass | 50,000 kg (110,000 lb) |
| Powered by | 2 × BE-3U |
| Maximum thrust | 1,600 kN (350,000 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 445 s (4.36 km/s) |
| Burn time | 644 seconds |
| Propellant | LOX / LH2 |
New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed and operated by the American company Blue Origin. The rocket is designed to have a partially reusable, two-stage design with a diameter of 7 meters (23 ft). The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines, while the second stage relies on two BE-3U engines, all designed and built in-house by Blue Origin. It launches from Cape Canaveral Launch Complex 36, with future missions planned from Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 9.
Development of New Glenn began prior to 2013 and was officially announced in 2016. The rocket is named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. The inaugural vehicle was unveiled on the launch pad in February 2024. Its maiden flight took place on 16 January 2025, carrying a prototype Blue Ring spacecraft, marking the first launch from LC-36 since NROL-23 in 2005. This mission served as the first of several demonstration launches required to be certified for use by the National Security Space Launch program.
Similar to Blue Origin's New Shepard suborbital rocket, used for space tourism, the New Glenn's first stage is designed to be reusable and land on a barge called Landing Platform Vessel 1. New Glenn has not yet achieved a booster landing. In 2021, the company launched Project Jarvis, an initiative aimed at making the second stage reusable as well.