On November 5, 2026, Blue Origin announced GS3, a third stage for New Glenn, and Northstar, a booster engine. The company says GS3 can deliver up to 8 metric tons to geostationary orbit (GEO) and 10 metric tons to trans-lunar injection (TLI) on the 7x2 configuration, or up to 14 metric tons to GEO and 20 metric tons to TLI on the 9x4. Those are Blue Origin’s stated capabilities. GS3 announcement · Northstar announcement
What GS3 is designed to do
GS3 is intended to support New Glenn missions that need to send payloads beyond lower Earth orbits. Blue Origin lists direct GEO and Earth-escape trajectories, medium Earth orbit (MEO) and GEO insertion, multiple payload deployments, extended coast phases and multiple precision burns.
The stage uses Blue Origin’s BE-7 engine. The company reports a vacuum specific impulse, a measure of propulsion efficiency, above 460 seconds for GS3 mission profiles. It also says GS3 uses the same fixed payload adapters and fairing as the two-stage vehicle, sits within an interstage and preserves the fairing’s full volume for customer payloads. Blue Origin’s GS3 announcement
The possible November return-to-flight timing covered in NeoTeo’s earlier New Glenn report is a separate question from these GS3 and Northstar announcements.
GS3’s stated payload capacity by configuration
Blue Origin gives different maximum payload figures for each New Glenn configuration and destination:
| New Glenn configuration | To GEO, up to | To TLI, up to |
| 7x2 | 8 metric tons | 10 metric tons |
| 9x4 | 14 metric tons | 20 metric tons |
TLI is the trajectory that sends a spacecraft toward the Moon. The configuration and destination both matter when reading the capacity figures: the 9x4 figures are higher than the 7x2 figures for each destination. Blue Origin’s stated capacities
What Blue Origin reports about the tank tests
Blue Origin says it tested the GS3 composite liquid-hydrogen tank using flight-fluid systems under two separate pressure conditions. It reports pressurizing the tank to 100% of Maximum Expected Operating Pressure (MEOP) for 2.5 hours, and in a separate test to 150% of MEOP for 10 minutes. MEOP is the pressure the system is expected to encounter in operation.
The company says the tank is expected to be the first composite liquid-hydrogen tank flown in space. Blue Origin’s GS3 announcement
Keep each GS3 capacity tied to its configuration and destination; the two reported tank tests have different pressure levels and durations.
Northstar’s design and stated comparison with BE-4
Blue Origin describes Northstar as a liquid-oxygen/liquefied-natural-gas (LOX/LNG) booster engine. The company says it uses an oxygen-rich staged-combustion cycle and a single-shaft turbopump, and that more than 65% of the engine is additively manufactured. Blue Origin’s Northstar announcement
Blue Origin reports 715,000 pounds-force of thrust for Northstar, compared with 640,000 pounds-force for BE-4. It also claims Northstar has 30% lower mass and 50% fewer parts than BE-4.
| Engine | Thrust, according to Blue Origin |
| Northstar | 715,000 pounds-force |
| BE-4 | 640,000 pounds-force |
The company calls Northstar its second booster engine, joining BE-4. Blue Origin also says Northstar assembly takes less than a day and development testing began 11 months after program approval. Blue Origin’s Northstar announcement
The GS3 mission targeted for 2028
Blue Origin says an unnamed government customer has contracted for a cislunar mission using GS3, with launch targeted for 2028. That is a target year, not a completed launch.
