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SpaceX’s Starship is a two-stage, fully reusable transportation system intended for missions from Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. Blue Origin’s New Glenn is a two-stage orbital launcher whose published recovery plan focuses on reusing its first stage. Both are among the largest rockets in development and operation, but their payload figures are not directly comparable: the companies publish different destination and configuration details.
What each rocket includes
Starship and Super Heavy
SpaceX uses “Starship” both for the upper-stage spacecraft and, in broader references, for the complete transportation system. For a fair vehicle-to-vehicle comparison, include the Starship spacecraft and its Super Heavy booster. SpaceX describes the two-stage system as designed for full reuse, with Super Heavy caught at the launch site and Starship returning for reuse. SpaceX’s Starship overview and its Starship V3 design description outline the architecture.
New Glenn
New Glenn is Blue Origin’s two-stage orbital launch vehicle. The company’s published 7×2 configuration has seven BE-4 engines on the first stage and two BE-3U engines on the upper stage. Blue Origin also notes a 9×4 next variant, so the 7×2 engine counts should not be assumed to describe every planned configuration. Blue Origin’s New Glenn page gives its vehicle and capability details.
How large are they?
SpaceX lists Starship at 124 metres (407 feet) tall and 9 metres in diameter. Blue Origin describes New Glenn as more than 98 metres (320 feet) tall, with a seven-metre fairing. These are company-published dimensions; height alone does not show how much payload either vehicle can carry or how much usable volume a particular mission has.
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Payload figures: why the headline numbers do not settle the comparison
| Vehicle and published configuration | Company-stated payload capability | What the figure specifies |
|---|---|---|
| Starship/Super Heavy | 100+ metric tonnes | SpaceX specifies a fully reusable configuration, but the cited capability page does not give a directly matched orbit comparison with New Glenn’s figures. |
| New Glenn | 45 metric tonnes to LEO | Blue Origin states a low Earth orbit destination. |
| New Glenn | More than 13 metric tonnes to GTO | Blue Origin states a geostationary transfer orbit destination. |
These are company-stated capabilities, not independently verified results from identical missions. A useful payload comparison needs the same destination, vehicle configuration, and reuse assumptions. In particular, New Glenn’s GTO figure should not be set directly against Starship’s 100+ tonne figure as if both described the same orbit and configuration. Payload volume also matters: Blue Origin publishes a seven-metre fairing, while the cited Starship capability figure is a mass figure rather than a matched fairing-volume comparison.
Reuse: two different recovery plans
Starship’s full-system reuse goal
SpaceX says both Starship stages are designed for reuse. The booster is intended to return to the launch site for a catch, while the upper stage is intended to return as well. SpaceX also describes orbital propellant transfer as part of the architecture for long-range missions, where a spacecraft may need to be refuelled in orbit before continuing toward destinations such as the Moon or Mars.
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New Glenn’s first-stage recovery
Blue Origin says New Glenn’s first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 flights and returns to a landing platform at sea. That number is a design target, not a demonstrated reuse count. The cited Blue Origin material does not claim that New Glenn’s upper stage is reusable.
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| Vehicle stage | Engines and propellants |
|---|---|
| Starship spacecraft | Six Raptor engines: three sea-level and three vacuum engines, burning subcooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen. |
| Super Heavy booster | Thirty-three Raptor engines, burning subcooled liquid methane and liquid oxygen. |
| New Glenn first stage (7×2 configuration) | Seven BE-4 engines, burning liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas. |
| New Glenn upper stage (7×2 configuration) | Two restartable BE-3U engines, burning liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. |
The propellant choices reflect distinct stage designs. Starship uses methane and oxygen across its two stages. New Glenn combines a natural-gas-and-oxygen booster with a hydrogen-and-oxygen upper stage; Blue Origin identifies the BE-3U engines as restartable, a capability relevant to delivering payloads into different orbital conditions. Engine counts above refer to the stated Starship system and New Glenn’s 7×2 configuration, not Blue Origin’s noted 9×4 next variant. The companies describe the engines and propellants in their BE-3U information and Starship overview.
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What their missions are designed to do
Starship’s stated scope goes beyond conventional orbital launch: SpaceX describes Earth-orbit, Moon, and Mars transportation, with propellant transfer in orbit supporting longer-range missions. New Glenn’s published capability emphasis is high-volume payload deployment to orbit, including both LEO and the higher-energy GTO destination. Blue Origin’s NG-2 mission also provides a concrete example of its orbital role: the rocket deployed NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft into its designated loiter orbit.
What the mission records show
As of October 4, 2026, the publicly listed outcomes show different kinds of progress, not equivalent service readiness. Blue Origin reports that New Glenn mission NG-2 completed on November 13, 2025: ESCAPADE was deployed into its designated loiter orbit and the first stage landed on the recovery vessel Jacklyn. Blue Origin’s NG-2 mission account records that outcome.
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SpaceX’s launch record lists Starship Flight 14 on September 28, 2026, with the vehicle expended on return. That entry reflects an active test program, but it is not evidence of routine full-system reuse. Flight records are time-sensitive; SpaceX lists its missions on its launches page.
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By published height, Starship is taller: SpaceX lists 124 metres, compared with Blue Origin’s more-than-98-metre figure for New Glenn. That does not make Starship the universal winner. Their payload statements use different destination and reuse descriptions, and their designs address different mission needs. Starship’s differentiator is its ambition to reuse both stages and transport people or cargo beyond Earth orbit; New Glenn’s published approach centers on orbital payload delivery and first-stage recovery. A defensible payload winner would require comparable figures for the same orbit, configuration, and reuse assumptions.
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