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Blue Origin New Glenn: Jeff Bezos's Heavy-Lift Rocket Takes Shape | Taha Abbasi
Taha Abbasi··3 min read
Blue Origin Gets Serious
Taha Abbasi has been tracking the commercial space race, and Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is finally approaching operational status. After years of development delays that drew criticism (including from Taha Abbasi’s own analysis), Jeff Bezos’s space company is demonstrating that patience and deep pockets can eventually produce results. New Glenn represents Blue Origin’s transition from suborbital tourism to serious orbital launch capability.
New Glenn is a heavy-lift orbital rocket designed to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and, to some extent, with Starship. With a reusable first stage and a payload capacity of 45 metric tons to low Earth orbit, it fills a critical gap in the commercial launch market.
Why New Glenn Matters
Competition in space launch is good for everyone. As Taha Abbasi argues:
- Price pressure: More launch providers mean lower costs for satellite operators, scientific missions, and commercial ventures
- Redundancy: The space industry can’t depend on a single provider. If SpaceX has a vehicle anomaly, alternatives must exist
- Innovation pressure: SpaceX’s rapid iteration is partly driven by knowing competitors are closing the gap
- Customer choice: Different missions have different requirements that various rockets serve differently
The BE-4 Engine Story
New Glenn is powered by Blue Origin’s BE-4 engine, which also powers United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan rocket. The BE-4 uses liquefied natural gas (methane) and liquid oxygen — the same propellant combination as SpaceX’s Raptor engine. After years of development delays, BE-4 production has stabilized, and the engine has proven reliable in ULA’s Vulcan launches.
The Reusability Promise
New Glenn’s first stage is designed for reuse — landing on a ship at sea, similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9. If Blue Origin can achieve reliable booster recovery, it would dramatically reduce launch costs and increase flight rates. Taha Abbasi notes this is where SpaceX’s decade of experience becomes relevant — reusable rocket landing is harder than it looks, and the learning curve is steep.
The Bezos Factor
Jeff Bezos has personally invested over $10 billion in Blue Origin. Unlike SpaceX, which generates significant revenue from commercial launches and Starlink, Blue Origin has been primarily funded by Bezos’s personal wealth and Amazon stock sales. Taha Abbasi sees this as both a strength (virtually unlimited patience and capital) and a weakness (less pressure to achieve commercial sustainability).
The Commercial Launch Market in 2026
The launch market is booming, driven by satellite internet constellations (Starlink, Project Kuiper), Earth observation, and national security missions. New Glenn enters a market hungry for capacity — if the rocket performs reliably, customers will come. Taha Abbasi predicts Blue Origin will capture 10-15% of the commercial launch market within three years of operational status, primarily serving Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellite constellation.
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About the Author: Taha Abbasi is a technology executive, CTO, and applied frontier tech builder. Read more on Grokpedia | YouTube: The Brown Cowboy | tahaabbasi.com
Taha Abbasi
Engineer by trade. Builder by instinct. Explorer by choice.
