Blue Origin has confirmed that more than 65% of its new Northstar booster engine is additively manufactured, built in-house with the company’s large-scale AM capability.
Compared to BE-4, the engine currently powering New Glenn and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan, Northstar cuts mass by 30% and parts count by 50%, while raising thrust from 640,000 to 715,000 pounds.
| Metric | BE-4 | Northstar |
|---|---|---|
| Thrust | 640,000 lbs | 715,000 lbs |
| Mass | baseline | -30% |
| Parts count | baseline | -50% |
| AM content | n/a | 65%+ |
Blue Origin says manufacturing advancements have brought assembly time down to under a day, and the program moved from approval to development testing in 11 months. The company frames that pace as evidence it can “rapidly iterate and deliver advanced propulsion systems,” per its own statement to TCT Magazine.
Northstar is Blue Origin’s second booster engine after BE-4, and it keeps the same liquefied natural gas-fuelled, oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle and single-shaft turbopump architecture. Seven BE-4 engines fly on New Glenn’s first stage; two drive Vulcan’s. Whether Northstar is meant to replace BE-4 on those vehicles, or serve a separate program, is not stated.
Blue Origin has not disclosed which AM process or processes were used, what materials went into the printed components, or which specific parts were printed versus conventionally machined. Those gaps make it hard to judge how the 65% figure was calculated, by part count, by mass, or by some other measure, and the company hasn’t said.