# Blue Origin Says Northstar Could Cost 25% as Much as BE-4

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/50971
Published: 2026-11-07T17:46:09.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-07T17:46:09.000Z
Section: Technology

> Dave Limp put Northstar’s starting thrust at 715,000 pounds, compared with BE-4’s 640,000-pound thrust figure. Blue Origin aims eventually to assemble each engine in less than a day.

Blue Origin has begun test firings of Northstar, which will eventually replace BE-4 on New Glenn, while the company estimates the new engine could cost 25% as much to manufacture.

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp put Northstar’s starting thrust at 715,000 pounds, compared with 640,000 pounds for BE-4. Northstar burns methane and liquid oxygen, the same propellants used by BE-4. Its propulsion system also retains BE-4’s oxygen-rich staged-combustion process and single-shaft turbopump layout.

Blue Origin describes Northstar as a simplified design. It has half as many parts as BE-4 and 30% less mass, while 65% of the engine can be made through 3D printing. Current production runs at roughly one Northstar engine every 10 days. Blue Origin aims eventually to assemble each engine in less than a day. BE-4 production will continue for United Launch Alliance, which uses two of the engines on its Vulcan rocket.

Northstar is one of two New Glenn upgrades Blue Origin outlined. The company is also developing GS3, a third stage powered by its BE-7 engine, which is used in its lunar-lander program. GS3 will burn liquid hydrogen and oxygen and is intended to send payloads directly to geostationary orbit or onto Earth-escape trajectories. It is designed to fit inside New Glenn’s interstage, preserving the rocket’s full payload fairing volume.

Blue Origin lists capacity for the 7×2 New Glenn configuration at 8 metric tons to geostationary orbit and 10 metric tons on a translunar injection trajectory toward the moon. The larger 9×4 version is listed at 14 metric tons to geostationary orbit and 20 metric tons toward the moon. The figures refer to configurations with seven or nine first-stage engines and two or four second-stage engines, respectively.

Hydrogen storage is a challenge for composite tanks because temperature changes and mechanical strain can cause cracks that allow the gas to escape. Blue Origin recently completed a liquid hydrogen tanking test with a 5.5-meter composite tank in Texas. The tank held its expected maximum operating pressure for 2.5 hours and was also tested at 150% of that pressure for 10 minutes.

The test gave Blue Origin confidence to advance the composite-tank concept for GS3. The company is targeting a 2028 debut for the stage for a government customer.