New Glenn on the launch pad ahead of its second mission. Photo: Blue Origin

Blue Origin is planning to upgrade its New Glenn rocket, and announced plans for an upcoming super-heavy version of the rocket on Thursday. 

After last week marked the second successful New Glenn mission, Blue Origin plans to increase thrust on its BE-4 booster engines, starting with the third mission. 

The launcher said the total thrust of the two BE-3Us that power New Glenn’s upper stage will increase from the original design of 320,000 pounds of force to 400,000 pounds of force thrust over the next few missions.

Additional vehicle upgrades will include a reusable fairing, an updated lower-cost tank design, and a reusable thermal protection system, which Blue Origin said will improve turnaround time for increased cadence. 

Blue Origin also announced an upcoming super-heavy class rocket called New Glenn 9×4 with a larger, 8.7-meter fairing. It is designed to launch over 70 metric tons to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and over 14 metric tons direct to Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). 

For comparison current version, New Glenn 7×2, has a 7-meter fairing and is designed to launch 45 metric tons to LEO and  13 metric tons to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO).

Blue Origin plans to operate the super-heavy variant New Glenn 9×4 concurrently with New Glenn 7×2 for more launch options. 

Last week, Blue Origin hit a major milestone of landing the first stage booster of New Glenn on its second-ever mission. This makes Blue Origin the second company after SpaceX to successfully land an orbital booster during an operational flight — and the first to do it in just two flights.