Updated

Updated · Space.com · Nov 6

Blue Origin Unveils New Glenn Third Stage as Northstar Lifts Thrust to 715,000 Pounds

Updated

Updated · Space.com · Nov 6

Blue Origin Unveils New Glenn Third Stage as Northstar Lifts Thrust to 715,000 Pounds

Q: A government customer booked the new GS3 stage for 2028, but what mysterious payload is heading to cislunar space?

Blue Origin has not identified the payload. The company said only that an unnamed government customer has booked a GS3-equipped New Glenn mission to cislunar space in 2028. What is known is the destination and the capability being purchased. Blue Origin says GS3, a new hydrogen-oxygen third stage powered by a BE-7 engine, is meant to send heavier payloads on higher-energy trajectories, including direct delivery toward geostationary orbit, the Moon and deeper space. The company said the 2028 booking is for a mission into cislunar space, the region between Earth and the Moon. The secrecy around the payload suggests it is likely a classified or otherwise undisclosed government mission, but Blue Origin has provided no name, agency or mission details. Reporting and company statements do not indicate whether it is a defense, intelligence, civil space or lunar infrastructure payload. So the direct answer is that the payload remains mysterious: all Blue Origin has publicly disclosed is that it is a government payload bound for cislunar space on a GS3 mission targeted for 2028.

3 articles · Updated · Space.com · Nov 6

GS3 adds a third stage to New Glenn, letting the rocket deploy constellations directly to GEO and carry heavier science and exploration payloads to the moon and deep space.
One BE-7 engine powers the stage, which Blue Origin said can send significant mass directly to trans-lunar injection and support sustained cislunar operations; an unnamed government customer has booked a 2028 mission.
Blue Origin also disclosed Northstar, a new methalox first-stage engine that cuts mass 30% and parts count 50% versus BE-4 while raising thrust from 640,000 to 715,000 pounds-force.
The upgrades come as New Glenn recovers from a failed April 2026 mission that lost AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 and a May 28 pad explosion, with the rocket's fourth flight still expected late this year.