Blue Origin unveiled a new super-heavy variant, New Glenn 9x4, with nine booster engines and four upper-stage engines, capable of delivering over 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit and over 14 metric tons to geosynchronous orbit, paired with an 8.7-meter fairing; it will operate alongside the existing 7x2 variant for mega-constellations, lunar missions, deep-space probes, and national security payloads.

Upgrades to the 9x4 are planned to begin with NG-3 early next year, as part of a phased development program, though a precise timeline beyond that has not been disclosed.

Industry context shows competition with Rocket Lab, SpaceX, and ULA pursuing larger rockets to deploy bigger satellite constellations, underscoring a race to higher capacity and reusable capabilities.

TechCrunch published the report and included author Sean O’Kane’s bio and contact details.

SpaceNews editor Jeff Foust provided coverage of the news, highlighting ongoing space policy, commercial space activity, and industry developments.

Reuters reported the development, attributing the story to journalist Joey Roulette with a dateline of November 20, 2025.

The timeline emphasizes propulsion improvements and reusability as central to expanding missions to the Moon and beyond, with testing at multiple facilities and continued focus on National Security Space Launch readiness.

Technical emphasis includes ongoing BE-4 engine enhancements, reuse demonstrations such as offshore booster landings, and plans for a reusable fairing and improved thermal protection system.

NG-1 reached orbit from Cape Canaveral with seven BE-4 engines, validating baseline capabilities and setting the stage for future reusability; the first stage was not recovered on that flight.

The developments are framed against Artemis mission goals and comparisons with SpaceX’s Starship and NASA’s SLS, exploring how Blue Origin assets might augment or replace SLS in future efforts.

The press release mentions uses for mega-constellations, lunar and deep-space exploration, and national security requirements under a Golden Dome tagline.

The NG-2 mission delivered NASA’s ESCAPADE twins to Mars and achieved a successful booster recovery at sea, with CEO comments signaling scale-up plans for launch operations and second-stage production.