Fresh off its second successful New Glenn launch, Blue Origin just unveiled plans for a super-heavy variant that towers over the historic Saturn V rocket. The new New Glenn 9x4 configuration packs nine engines and can haul over 70 metric tons to orbit, putting it in direct competition with SpaceX's Starship for NASA's lunar missions and mega-constellation deployments.
Blue Origin isn't content to let SpaceX dominate the heavy-lift market. Jeff Bezos' space company just dropped blueprints for a beefed-up version of its New Glenn rocket that's designed to go head-to-head with Starship on the biggest missions in space.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. Just days after New Glenn's completely successful second flight, Blue Origin revealed the New Glenn 9x4 configuration that adds two more engines to the first stage and doubles the upper stage power. The company's official announcement shows this isn't just concept art - they're serious about building it.
The numbers tell the competitive story. Where the current New Glenn 7x2 uses seven engines on the booster and two on the upper stage, the 9x4 variant jumps to nine and four respectively. That extra firepower translates to over 70 metric tons of payload capacity to low-Earth orbit - still shy of Starship's theoretical 100-ton capacity, but close enough to compete for the same missions.
SpaceX has been working on even more powerful Starship variants that could double that capacity, but Blue Origin's move signals they're not conceding the heavy-lift race. The New Glenn 9x4 will actually be taller than the historic Saturn V rocket that took humans to the Moon, putting it in truly elite company for rocket scale.
The expanded fairing - the protective nose cone that shields payloads - represents the real strategic play here. Blue Origin explicitly mentions targeting "mega-constellations, lunar and deep space explorations, and national security imperatives such as Golden Dome." That's basically a checklist of the most lucrative space missions available today.
The lunar angle is particularly pointed. Blue Origin is currently locked in competition with SpaceX for NASA's Artemis lunar missions, and the company made sure everyone got the message with Thursday's announcement. The official rendering shows the New Glenn 9x4 launching with an unusually prominent Moon visible in the background - about as subtle as a rocket engine.
