Blue Origin announces New Glenn rocket upgrades fit for a trip to the Moon

After its most recent successful New Glenn mission, Blue Origin is announcing propulsion upgrades to its star rocket, and plans for a larger "super-heavy class rocket" that puts the company in even closer competition with SpaceX.

Blue Origin says New Glenn will get higher-performing engines at both stages, with the total thrust of the booster engines increasing from 3.9 million lbf to 4.5 million lbf. The total thrust of the upper stage of the rocket, meanwhile, is going from 320,000 lbf to 400,000 lbf. Paired with a new reusable fairing (the cover that goes over the payload of New Glenn) and an "updated lower-cost tank design," Blue Origin claims that the upgraded rocket will benefit customers heading to "low-Earth orbit, the Moon and beyond."

The company also has another rocket on the roadmap, New Glenn 9x4, the bigger sibling of the current New Glenn ...