The recurring question of whether to reuse the second stage of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket has resurfaced, creating an ongoing internal debate within the company. This discussion isn't new; it dates back to the initial design phases of the heavy-lift rocket, over 15 years ago. While the first stage is confirmed to be fully reusable, the economics and technical feasibility of doing the same for the upper stage, powered by BE-3U engines, remain a significant point of contention.
This challenge mirrors an earlier dil emma faced by SpaceX with its Falcon 9. Ultimately, SpaceX founder Elon Musk opted against a fully reusable Falcon 9 second stage, focusing instead on reducing manufacturing costs and recovering payload fairings. This strategy proved successful, significantly lowering their launch costs. Blue Origin, with New Glenn being larger than Falcon 9 but smaller than Starship, has also grappled with the trade-offs between developing a reusable upper stage and aggressively cutting manufacturing expenses. Past attempts, like the "Project Jarvis" initiative, have been abandoned, and the company continues to evaluate its options as the rocket's maiden flight approaches.
A recent job posting for a "Director of Reusable Upper Stage Development" strongly suggests that Blue Origin is once again leaning towards making the New Glenn upper stage, known as GS2, reusable. This move comes as the first generation of New Glenn is proving to be exceptionally costly to manufacture, with estimates placin g the first stage cost over $100 million and the second stage over $50 million. While reusing the first stage is planned to offset costs, the ongoing expense of building new second stages is unsustainable for a commercial launch business. The complexity and cost are expected to increase further with planned upgrades to the rocket. Reusing upper stages presents significant technical hurdles, including thermal protection for re-entry and the added mass of landing systems, areas where even SpaceX is still innovating with Starship.
Fuente Original: https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/02/to-reuse-or-not-reuse-the-eternal-debate-of-new-glenns-second-stage-reignites/
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