Active
New Glenn
Heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle with a reusable first stage, designed for commercial, civil, and national security missions.
Blue OriginGS3
In Development
Third stage for New Glenn, announced Nov. 5, 2026. Blue Origin says it is already under contract for a cislunar mission with a government customer scheduled to launch in 2028. The agency is not named. It uses the BE-7 engine at better than 460 seconds of vacuum specific impulse and can deliver up to 14 metric tons to GEO and 20 metric tons to trans-lunar injection on the 9x4 vehicle, or up to 8 metric tons to GEO and 10 metric tons to trans-lunar injection on the 7x2. Ars Technica quotes Dave Limp saying one cislunar customer is signed for 2028.
Latest update Nov 7, 2026
01
Current status
Composite liquid-hydrogen tank pressurized to 100 percent of maximum expected operating pressure for 2.5 hours, and to 150 percent for 10 minutes, at Launch Site One. Not flown.
02
In the news1
Blue Origin introduces the Northstar engine and a New Glenn third stage
Blue Origin said on Nov. 5 that its Northstar booster engine produces 715,000 pounds of thrust, versus 640,000 for the BE-4, with 30 percent less mass and half the parts, and that a new BE-7 third stage, GS3, is under contract for a government cislunar launch in 2028 with stated capacity of up to 14 metric tons to GEO on New Glenn 9x4. The newsroom post says Northstar joins BE-4 and gives no flight date, after development testing began 11 months from approval. At the UP.Summit, CEO Dave Limp told Ars Technica that Northstar will eventually replace BE-4 on New Glenn at about a quarter of the manufacturing cost, while BE-4 production continues for United Launch Alliance's Vulcan.
www.blueorigin.com www.blueorigin.com arstechnica.com + United Launch Alliance
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Liquid oxygen/liquefied natural gas (methane) rocket engine - the first American-made oxygen-rich staged combustion engine. Powers New Glenn and ULA Vulcan Centaur.
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Lunar landing system family with a cargo-focused Mark 1 variant and a crew-capable Mark 2 variant being developed for NASA's Artemis program.
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TeraWave
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Northstar
LOX/LNG reusable booster engine. Blue Origin's Nov. 5, 2026 post rates it at 715,000 pounds of thrust, 30 percent less mass and half the parts of BE-4, with more than 65 percent produced by additive manufacturing, and says it joins BE-4. The post states no price and no first flight. Ars Technica quotes CEO Dave Limp the same day saying Northstar will eventually replace BE-4 on New Glenn and that Blue Origin believes it can be manufactured at 25 percent of a BE-4's cost. He said test firing has begun and that BE-4 production continues for ULA Vulcan. No first-flight vehicle or date was stated.
04
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