Blue Origin Set to Compete with SpaceX's Dominance through its New Glenn Rocket Launch?
New Glenn Rocket: A Contender in the Space Race
Blue Origin's latest creation, the New Glenn rocket, is set to shake up the space industry with its impressive capabilities. This new player in the market offers a unique alternative to SpaceX's Falcon 9, differing significantly in mission capabilities, technical specifications, and market position.
Standing tall at 322 feet, the New Glenn rocket is over twice as powerful as Falcon 9 at liftoff. With seven BE-4 engines producing 3.85 million pounds of thrust, it is designed to accommodate up to 6,600 pounds of payload, making it suitable for heavier-lift and larger payload missions. The rocket also boasts a much larger cargo fairing diameter (~23 feet) compared to Falcon 9’s roughly 17-to-18-foot diameter, enabling the accommodation of larger payloads.
New Glenn shares similarities with Falcon 9 in terms of reusability and landing approach. Both rockets emphasize reusability with first-stage boosters designed to be recovered. However, New Glenn's initial launches faced challenges with successful booster landings, while Falcon 9 has a proven, routinely successful reusability record. The boosters for New Glenn are planned to be reusable up to 25 times and aimed to land on a barge in the Atlantic, similar to Falcon 9's established sea-based booster recovery.
The New Glenn rocket is powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, which use liquefied natural gas (methane) and liquid oxygen. This is a technology also used by United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket, reflecting differing design philosophies and supply chain choices.
One of the key differences between New Glenn and Falcon 9 lies in the cost per launch. New Glenn’s estimated cost per launch is about $500 million, which is significantly more expensive than Falcon 9’s roughly $67 million per launch (with reused boosters translating to about $52 million effective cost). This large cost difference is attributed to Blue Origin’s slower development pace and more traditional aerospace manufacturing methods, whereas SpaceX focuses on rapid iteration and cost reduction.
Despite the high cost, New Glenn has potential lift capacities of 28,600 pounds to geostationary orbit and up to 99,200 pounds in low Earth orbit. The rocket is engineered for diverse missions on medium and distant orbits, similar to Blue Ring.
As the arrival of New Glenn adds variety to NASA and U.S. government launch options, it also enhances America's autonomy in space access while pushing costs down through increased competition among launch providers. Blue Origin aims to carve out its niche in a SpaceX-dominated sector, but its ability to compete effectively will depend on reducing costs, improving launch reliability, and scaling operations.
References:
[1] Ars Technica. (2021, April 20). Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket: What you need to know. Retrieved from https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/04/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-what-you-need-to-know/
[2] Space.com. (2021, May 26). Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket faces new challenges in space race with SpaceX. Retrieved from https://www.space.com/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-faces-new-challenges-in-space-race-with-spacex
[3] The Verge. (2021, April 20). Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket: What you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/20/22390946/blue-origin-new-glenn-rocket-what-you-need-to-know
[4] CNBC. (2021, May 26). Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket faces new challenges in space race with SpaceX. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-faces-new-challenges-in-space-race-with-spacex.html
[5] TechCrunch. (2021, April 20). Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket: What you need to know. Retrieved from https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/20/blue-origins-new-glenn-rocket-what-you-need-to-know/
The New Glenn rocket's impressive power and payload capabilities, along with its use of BE-4 engines, place it as a potential competitor in the aerospace industry, specifically targeting heavier-lift and larger payload missions. The rocket's high cost per launch compared to Falcon 9, due to Blue Origin's development pace and traditional aerospace manufacturing methods, could challenge its competitiveness in the space finance sector.
