Blue Origin is targeting a production cost for its next-generation rocket engine that is just 25 percent of its predecessor’s price. At the UP.Summit conference in Florida on Thursday, the company unveiled the Northstar engine and the GS3 hydrogen-oxygen third stage, a dual-pronged upgrade designed to scale the New Glenn rocket toward a target of more than 1,000 launches per year.
The Northstar Engine: 715,000 Pounds of Thrust
The Northstar engine is a simplified, high-output evolution of the BE-4 engine currently powering the first stage of New Glenn. While the BE-4 delivers 640,000 pounds of thrust, the Northstar is engineered for a starting thrust of 715,000 pounds. It achieves this increase through a significant reduction in complexity: the engine features half the number of parts and 30 percent less mass than the BE-4. Roughly 65 percent of its components are capable of being 3D-printed.
Methane Combustion and Continued BE-4 Production
Technically, the Northstar maintains the architecture of its predecessor, utilizing an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle and a single-shaft turbopump to burn methane and liquid oxygen. Despite the pivot to Northstar, Blue Origin will not abandon the current engine line. Limp confirmed the company will continue manufacturing the existing BE-4 for United Launch Alliance, which utilizes two of those engines to power its Vulcan rocket.
GS3 and the Push Toward Lunar Trajectories
To complement the increased first-stage power, Blue Origin is developing the GS3, a hydrogen-oxygen third stage. The GS3 is intended to provide the necessary energy to deliver payloads into higher-energy orbits, specifically targeting geostationary orbit and lunar trajectories.
This is Blue Origin's new Northstar engine firing on a test stand It runs on methane and liquid oxygen with an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle. A small preburner burns all the oxygen with a little fuel, and that hot gas spins the turbine before flowing into the main… pic.twitter.com/hVzf0Yz5vX
Blue Origin is developing a new Northstar engine and a hydrogen-oxygen third stage, the GS3, for its New Glenn rocket. As Blue Origin conducts ongoing test fires to bring the Northstar to operational status, the company is positioning New Glenn to meet what Limp described as an unprecedented demand for space access.
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Blue Origin reveals it's new engine called Northstar! 715,000 pounds (324 tons) of thrust 30% less mass 50% less parts This engine produces more thrust then Raptor 3 can do reliably. Northstar will fix the problem that occurred on NG-4 (according to some gifs😉) pic.twitter.com/EHshwEOOdm
CEO Dave Limp today unveiled GS3, a third stage that significantly expands New Glenn’s ability to deliver high-energy and deep-space missions, and Northstar, a new booster engine. Read more –> https://t.co/W5HpNhabO4 pic.twitter.com/W8duocg7fv
