New Glenn is Blue Origin's two-stage heavy-lift rocket, with a first stage built to land and fly again.
blue-origin-new-glenn New Glenn is a heavy-lift rocket from Blue Origin, built for large satellites and for national security and NASA payloads. It stands about 320 feet tall and 23 feet across. The first stage is designed to land and be flown again, at least 25 times. It first flew on 16 January 2025.
The fairing, the cover that protects the payload, is carbon composite and 7 metres across. Constellium's aluminium-lithium plate goes into both the very cold (cryogenic) and the warmer parts of the structure. Both stages pressurise their tanks with propellant gas instead of helium.
Blue Origin's heavy-lift orbital launcher for large satellites, national security and NASA payloads. The 7 m fairing is meant for very large payloads, and the booster is designed to land and be reused.
Seven BE-4 engines burn liquid oxygen and methane. The liquid oxygen tank holds 30,000 cubic feet (850 cubic metres). To land, the booster fires three engines for the re-entry burn and one for the landing burn.
Both stages use orthogrid aluminium tanks, with a grid of ribs stiffening the walls. The domes are welded aluminium. Common bulkheads, each a single wall shared by two propellant tanks, keep the propellants apart.
Two BE-3U engines, tuned for vacuum, burn liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen. The stage is about 26.8 metres tall and is not recovered.
The carbon composite fairing is 7 metres across. A separation system releases the first stage about three minutes into flight. A jettison system drops the fairing halves after the booster burn.
The first successful landing came on the second flight, on 13 November 2025, on a sea-going platform called Jacklyn. Blue Origin launches from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral and builds the rocket in a factory near Kennedy Space Center. It is also developing reusable fairings.
The 7-metre payload fairing.
Constellium plate used in cryogenic and non-cryogenic structure. Blue Origin does not say which parts.
Orthogrid tank walls, welded domes and common bulkheads on both stages. Blue Origin does not name the alloy.
Seven BE-4 engines power the first stage, and Blue Origin plans a larger version with nine. Two BE-3U engines, a vacuum version of the BE-3, power the second stage, and four are planned for the larger rocket. Constellium supplies the aluminium-lithium plate. The vertical landing builds on technology Blue Origin developed earlier, for New Shepard. The first flight carried the Blue Ring Pathfinder, and the second carried NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft.
Blue Origin
7 on the reusable first stage of the current 7x2 version
planned larger version: nine BE-4 engines on the first stage
2 on the second stage; vacuum-optimised variant of the BE-3; not yet a catalog product
planned larger version: four BE-3U engines on the second stage
NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars spacecraft rode the second New Glenn flight (launch date 13 November 2025 per NASA)
payload of the first flight
vertical booster landing technology previously developed by Blue Origin
Airware aluminium-lithium plate for cryogenic and non-cryogenic structure
United Launch Alliance
BE-4 engine. Here: 7 on the reusable first stage of the current 7x2 version. There: Booster: two engines, each 550,000 lbf at sea level.
ESA
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: TPMU/DSLP housing.
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: Platform structure supplier (eoPortal).
ESA
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: Telescope (structure and mirrors, 3 telescopes).
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: Outer panels (3).
ESA / Airbus
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: Main structure tube; Equipment box (EQB) and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: OBA sandwich panels.
Rockwest Composites
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: Aluminium inserts, in-plane and out-of-plane (DiskSat build).
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: Face skin carbon fibre; HR40 / NB321 unidirectional prepreg and more.
ArianeGroup / Arianespace
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: Vulcain 2.1 thrust frame; Vinci thrust frame and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: P120C motor casing; Nose fairing (user manual description) and more.
NASA
Aluminium. Here: Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages); Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material. There: Pressure vessel (seven large pieces, friction-stir welded); Backbone assembly (floor structure) and more.
Carbon fibre. Here: Payload fairing (nose cone). There: Core panels (webs, tank bulkhead, lower platform); Solar array wings (x4, X-wing, three panels each) with wing-tip cameras.
Blue Origin shares its payload guide only on request. It does not describe the tank alloys and grades, the interstage, the landing legs or the thrust structure. Nor does it say which parts use the Constellium plate. Published figures for liftoff thrust disagree.
What is written above is built from these numbers and quotes. Each row links to the page it was taken from. Get all of it as JSON, or ask our MCP server.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Height | about 320 ft |
| First stage engines | seven BE-4, LOX and LNG |
| Second stage engines | two BE-3U, LOX and LH2 |
| Lift-off thrust | about 4.62 million lbf |
| Fairing diameter | 7 m |
| Second-stage thrust (2018 guide) | 1060 kN (240,000 lb) |
| Second-stage height | about 26.8 m (88 ft) |
| First-stage LOX tank volume | 30,000 cu ft (850 m3) |
| Design reuse of the first stage | at least 25 flights |
| First flight (NG-1) | 16 January 2025 |
| First successful booster landing | 13 November 2025 |
| 9x4 version configuration | 9 BE-4 on the first stage, 4 BE-3U on the second stage |
| 9x4 version fairing | 8.7 m (29 ft) diameter |
| Stage separation time (NG-2 timeline) | T+00:03:09 |
Each material named in the sources: where it is used here, which other products use it, and its key numbers when its material page exists.
Used in 2 partsOrthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages) · Orthogrid aluminium second-stage material
Used in 1 partCryogenic and non-cryogenic structure (part not specified)
Used in 1 partPayload fairing (nose cone)
Two materials are stated in public sources: a carbon composite fairing and Constellium Al-Li Airware plate for structure (parts not specified). Components, suppliers and links were added from public sources. A material is left blank where no source states it.
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payload fairing (nose cone)“completed the first carbon composite nose cone” | carbon compositecarbon-fibre | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cryogenic and non-cryogenic structure (part not specified)“New Glenn's applications of Constellium's Al-Li Airware plate products for cryogenic and non-cryogenic structure” | aluminium-lithium Airware plate (Constellium; alloy grade not stated)aluminium-lithium-airware | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reusable first stage (GS1 booster)returns and lands for reuse“The New Glenn system is a heavy-class launch vehicle with a reusable first stage” | Not said | — | Supplier: Blue Origin |
| BE-4 engines (x7)first-stage main engines burning liquid oxygen and methane“The first stage is powered by seven BE-4 methane/oxygen engines” | Not said | — | Supplier: Blue Origin |
| First-stage liquid oxygen tankholds the oxidiser“Its liquid oxygen propellant tank has a volume of 30,000 cu ft (850 m3)” | Not said | — | — |
| Autogenous pressurisation (both stages)tank pressurised with propellant gas instead of helium“use autogenous pressurization” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| BE-3U engines (x2)vacuum-optimised hydrogen/oxygen engines“The second stage is powered by two BE-3U vacuum optimized engines” | Not said | — | Supplier: Blue Origin |
| Second-stage structure (expendable)second stage is about 26.8 m tall“roughly 88 feet (26.8 meters) tall” | Not said | — | — |
| Common bulkhead (second stage)separates the propellants in a shared tank“a large common bulkhead being employed on the second stage” | Not said | — | — |
| Second-stage structuresecond stage is about 26.8 m tall“roughly 88 feet (26.8 meters) tall” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orthogrid aluminium tanks with welded domes and common bulkheads (both stages)propellant tank construction“Both stages use orthogrid aluminum tanks with welded aluminum domes and common bulkheads.” | aluminium (alloy not stated)aluminium | — | — |
| Orthogrid aluminium second-stage materialorthogrid construction on the second stage“aluminum orthogrid material in its construction” | aluminium (alloy not stated)aluminium | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stage separation systemseparates GS1 from GS2 about three minutes into flight“Stage Separation” | Not said | — | — |
| Fairing jettison systemreleases the fairing halves after the booster burn“Fairings Jettison” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larger payload fairing (8.7 m) for the 9x4 versionwider fairing on the planned bigger vehicle“a larger payload fairing measuring 8.7 meters (29 ft) in diameter” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landing Platform Vessel Jacklynsea-going landing platform for booster recovery“successfully landed on the Landing Platform Vessel Jacklyn” | Not said | — | — |
| Part | Material | Finish and standard | Made by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)Cape Canaveral launch pad leased to Blue Origin in 2015“with Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) leased to Blue Origin in 2015” | Not said | — | — |
| Rocket factory near Kennedy Space Centermanufacturing facility in Florida“The company has built a huge manufacturing facility near the Kennedy Space Center in Florida” | Not said | — | — |
Tank, engine, interstage and landing-leg materials not sourced. More detail: Blue Origin's own pages returned HTTP 429 for every attempt, and the FAA environmental assessment (draft, September 2026), the FAA public-meeting slides and the Federal Register notice all returned HTTP 403 or a bot redirect, so no readable primary vehicle description was available. The 2018 payload user's guide could be reached only through a blog excerpt. Not found in any readable source: landing-leg and any drag-brake or strake hardware (the 2017 concept had two strakes; no later source was readable), thrust structure, interstage, tank alloys and grades (the Constellium Airware plate is named but not tied to a part), payload adapters, avionics, flight computers and sensor vendors, and any supplier other than Constellium. Most rows are Wikipedia sentences or NASA ESCAPADE timeline labels (the labels are event names, not prose); the aluminium orthogrid statement is a Wikipedia sentence that cites the payload user's guide. The vehicle now flies as the 7x2 version; the 9x4 version is described by Wikipedia as planned and its numbers are listed only as variant data. A May 2026 pad explosion reported in the press is not a component fact and was not used. All quotes came through a text extractor and were not machine-checked. More detail: Blue Origin's own pages returned HTTP 429 for every attempt, and the FAA environmental assessment (draft, September 2026), the FAA public-meeting slides and the Federal Register notice all returned HTTP 403 or a bot redirect, so no readable primary vehicle description was available. The 2018 payload user's guide could be reached only through a blog excerpt. Not found in any readable source: landing-leg and any drag-brake or strake hardware (the 2017 concept had two strakes; no later source was readable), thrust structure, interstage, tank alloys and grades (the Constellium Airware plate is named but not tied to a part), payload adapters, avionics, flight computers and sensor vendors, and any supplier other than Constellium. Most rows are Wikipedia sentences or NASA ESCAPADE timeline labels (the labels are event names, not prose); the aluminium orthogrid statement is a Wikipedia sentence that cites the payload user's guide. The vehicle now flies as the 7x2 version; the 9x4 version is described by Wikipedia as planned and its numbers are listed only as variant data. A May 2026 pad explosion reported in the press is not a component fact and was not used. All quotes came through a text extractor and were re-checked in a second fetch pass but not against a saved copy of the page.
Collected from public pages and documents, checked 4 Nov 2026.
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