Blue Origin reveals a super-heavy variant of its New Glenn rocket that is taller than a Saturn V | TechCrunch

"This super-heavy version of New Glenn will feature nine of the company's rocket engines on the booster stage, and four on the upper stage. That's up from seven and two, respectively, on the current version, which Blue Origin says will continue to fly alongside the super-heavy variant. Blue Origin is now referring to the two versions as New Glenn 9×4 and New Glenn 7×2."

"The larger New Glenn will feature a much larger fairing (the forward-facing shield that covers the rocket's payload) to allow bigger payloads at the top of the rocket. The added capability will put Blue Origin in play for missions centered around "mega-constellations, lunar and deep space explorations, and national security imperatives such as Golden Dome." Blue Origin is currently competing with SpaceX to help with NASA missions to the Moon, and the company is clearly teasing this capability in the rendering it released of New Glenn 9×4 on Thursday."

Blue Origin is developing a super-heavy New Glenn 9×4 variant that will be taller than Saturn V and comparable to SpaceX's Starship. The 9×4 configuration uses nine engines on the booster and four on the upper stage, boosting total thrust and enabling payloads over 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit. The existing 7×2 New Glenn will continue to fly alongside the 9×4. The larger vehicle includes an enlarged fairing for bigger payloads and targets mega-constellation deployment, lunar and deep-space exploration, and national security missions. The 7×2 also received higher thrust, reusable fairings, and quicker turnaround improvements.

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