Blue Origin confirms aggressive New Glenn production targets amid infrastructure expansion
A new job posting and official confirmation reveal plans to ramp up manufacturing of the 9×4 variant, yet the company's history of missed targets casts a shadow over the 60-launch-per-year goal.
Blue Origin has confirmed aggressive manufacturing targets for its New Glenn rocket, aiming to produce 100 upper stage tanks annually by 2029. The company plans to increase production of the more powerful 9×4 variant from the current rate of 12 units per year to 60 by the third quarter of 2028. These goals were verified by a company official following the release of a job posting for a Senior Manager of Gen 2.0 Tank Fabrication.
The specific role seeks to oversee the fabrication of the Quattro upper stage, which the company describes as the most structurally complex and schedule-critical subsystem on the vehicle. This variant features four BE-3U engines compared to the two currently powering the booster and is being developed to support lunar ambitions under NASA's Artemis program. While a reusable upper stage remains under study, current targets assume expendable stages, meaning each launch would require a new tank.
A production rate of 60 a year in 2028 suggests the company is targeting a launch rate of 60 New Glenn 9×4 rockets annually just three years from now. That would be in addition to the 7×2 variant currently flying, which would continue to be used for less demanding missions. The 9×4 variant is expected to debut as early as next year, significantly larger than the 7×2 variant which has launched three times since its initial flight in January 2025.
However, these targets are viewed as overly optimistic given the company's recent operational history. Before the year 2025, Jeff Bezos told the company he wanted New Glenn to launch eight times that year, but it ended up flying only twice. Furthermore, the most recent launch earlier this month experienced an upper stage anomaly, complicating the timeline for the more powerful configuration.
Despite these hurdles, Blue Origin continues to make major investments in infrastructure in Florida to support this expansion. The company recently broke ground on an 800,000-square-foot new manufacturing facility known as Project Horizon, which may be used for manufacturing second stages. If the firm intends to build 100 tanks a year for these stages, it has indicated a clear need for specialised engineering leadership to execute the plan.
