Blue Origin Targets Super-Heavy Class New Glenn Variant

VIA SATELLITE - Blue Origin is planning to upgrade its New Glenn rocket, and announced plans for an upcoming super-heavy version of the rocket on Thursday.

After last week marked the second successful New Glenn mission, Blue Origin plans to increase thrust on its BE-4 booster engines, starting with the third mission. 

The launcher said the total thrust of the two BE-3Us that power New Glenn’s upper stage will increase from the original design of 320,000 pounds of force to 400,000 pounds of force thrust over the next few missions.

Additional vehicle upgrades will include a reusable fairing, an updated lower-cost tank design, and a reusable thermal protection system, which Blue Origin said will improve turnaround time for increased cadence.

Blue Origin also announced an upcoming super-heavy class rocket called New Glenn 9×4 with a larger, 8.7-meter fairing. It is designed to launch over 70 metric tons to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and over 14 metric tons direct to Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). 

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Note:  Blue Origin is headquartered in Kent.

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