Blue Origin unveils Northstar: A 715,000-pound-thrust engine that can be built in under 24 hours

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp shared new video of Northstar, the company’s new booster engine, which produces 715,000 pounds of thrust. Limp said more than 65% of the engine is additively manufactured and that it can be assembled in less than a day. Blue Origin says Northstar has 30% less mass and 50% fewer parts than its BE-4 engine. The company also introduced GS3, a third stage for its New Glenn rocket that enables direct injection to geostationary orbit and Earth-escape trajectories. On the planned larger 9x4 version, GS3 can deliver up to about 30,900 pounds to geostationary orbit, and on the 7x2 version that has flown, about 17,600 pounds. New Glenn has flown three times, and its fourth flight is now targeted for January 2027. Image Credit: Dave Limp via X; Blue Origin; A.I. Generated Visuals Video Credit: Blue Origin; Getty