Blue Origin · Operational · us · Launch Vehicle
New Glenn
Blue Origin's heavy-lift reusable rocket; flew three times before the vehicle for its fourth flight exploded in a May 2026 static-fire test.
Verified 2026-09-24 · First flight 2025-01-16
Systems cutaway
7× BE-4 LOX/LNG engines on first stage; 2× BE-3U LOX/LH2 on second stage; 17,100 kN liftoff thrust.
7 m diameter fairing; two-stage design; 98 m total height; reusable first stage.
Propulsive first stage landing on drone ship; first successful landing on NG-2 (November 2025).
Specs & Metrics
- Payload to LEO ↑ better
- 45,000 kg
- Maximum payload mass deliverable to low Earth orbit (~200–400 km circular), in the vehicle's stated reference configuration.
- Payload to GTO ↑ better
- 13,000 kg
- Maximum payload mass deliverable to geostationary transfer orbit (~185 × 35,786 km), in the stated reference config.
- Liftoff Thrust ↑ better
- 17100 kN
- Total first-stage thrust at liftoff (sea-level), in kilonewtons, summing all active engines and solid strap-ons.
- Vehicle Height ↓ better
- 98 m
- Full stack height at liftoff, in metres, including fairing or spacecraft.
- Launches in 2025 ↑ better
- 2
- NG-1 (Jan 16) and NG-2 (Nov 13) in 2025; NG-3 launched April 19, 2026
- Total number of launch attempts conducted in calendar year 2025 (Jan 1 – Dec 31 UTC).
Subsystems
7× BE-4 LOX/LNG engines on first stage; 2× BE-3U LOX/LH2 on second stage; 17,100 kN liftoff thrust.
7 m diameter fairing; two-stage design; 98 m total height; reusable first stage.
Propulsive first stage landing on drone ship; first successful landing on NG-2 (November 2025).
Program roadmap
- achieved
Maiden flight (NG-1) — first stage landing unsuccessful
2025-01-16↗ - achieved
NG-2 with first successful booster landing (Blue Origin NASA Mars probes)
2025-11-13↗ - achieved
NG-3 — first booster reflight, landed again; BlueBird 7 was placed in an off-nominal orbit
2026-04-19↗ - slipped
First of 24 Amazon Leo launches slipped — the vehicle exploded in its pre-launch static fire, damaging LC-36, Blue Origin's only orbital pad; satellites not aboard
2026-05-28↗ - planned
Return to flight after the static-fire explosion, traced to a BE-4 main oxygen valve (Blue Origin: before the end of 2026)
2026↗