Blue Origin Announces Super-Heavy New glenn Variant to Challenge SpaceX’s Starship
CAPE CANAVERAL, FL – November 21, 2025 – Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Jeff Bezos, today announced a substantially upgraded version of its New Glenn rocket, dubbed New Glenn 9×4, designed to compete directly with SpaceX’s Starship. The new design features an increased engine count – nine on the booster and four on the upper stage - up from the current New Glenn’s seven and two, respectively.
“The next chapter in New Glenn’s roadmap is a new super-heavy class rocket,” Blue Origin stated. The proclamation follows a accomplished second mission for the current new Glenn, which launched NASA’s ESCAPADE mission to Mars in October. While Blue Origin has not specified a launch timeline for the larger variant, the rocket currently has a schedule filled with missions planned for 2026 and 2027.
New Glenn debuted in January after years of delays, with its inaugural flight experiencing issues during booster recovery. Following seven corrective measures identified by the federal Aviation Administration,the second mission proved a major success for the company.
The upgraded New Glenn will be capable of lifting over 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit, more than 14 metric tons to geosynchronous orbit, and over 20 metric tons to trans-lunar injection. While this is less than Starship’s capacity of up to 150 metric tons to low Earth orbit, Blue Origin emphasizes the new rocket will be a powerful launch vehicle.
The New Glenn 9×4 will also incorporate a larger 28.5-foot (8.7-meter) fairing, accommodating larger payloads. Blue origin stated both the 9×4 and the existing 7×2 variants will operate concurrently, offering customers more launch options for missions including mega-constellations, lunar and deep space exploration, and national security applications like the Golden Dome program.
blue Origin CEO Dave Limp shared an illustration on social media comparing the new new Glenn to the Saturn V rocket used during the Apollo program, visually demonstrating the notable size increase.
The success of New Glenn’s second flight has validated the rocket’s capabilities, and the super-heavy variant aims to position Blue Origin as a more formidable competitor to SpaceX in the expanding space launch market.
