BE-4 Engine
Blue Origin
High-thrust LOX/LNG rocket engine powering New Glenn and Vulcan Centaur, designed for high reusability.
Key figurescomparable across the catalogue
- Thrust
- 2,400,000 N
Normalised to common units so this product can be compared with others in its category. The supplier's own wording is below.
As published by the supplier
- Thrust (vacuum)
- ~2,400 kN per engine
- Propellant
- LOX / LNG (liquefied natural gas)
- Cycle
- Oxidizer-rich staged combustion
- Reusability target
- 25+ flights per engine
- Applications
- New Glenn (×7 first stage); Vulcan Centaur (×2)
- Development completed
- Certification flights 2022–2024
About
The BE-4 is Blue Origin’s high-thrust, reusable liquid rocket engine burning liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas (LNG). With approximately 2,400 kN of thrust per engine, BE-4 is one of the most powerful American rocket engines developed in decades. It uses an oxidizer-rich staged combustion cycle, which maximizes specific impulse and combustion efficiency.
BE-4 was developed to power both Blue Origin’s New Glenn (seven engines on the first stage) and United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur (two engines). ULA selected BE-4 over competitor engines in 2018 after a years-long competition, making the engine commercially significant beyond Blue Origin’s own vehicles. Vulcan Centaur’s first flight in January 2024 demonstrated BE-4’s performance in service.
The engine is designed for reuse: Blue Origin stated targets of 25+ flights per engine for the New Glenn application. Its LNG propellant is low-cost, widely available, and produces a cleaner exhaust than RP-1-burning engines, reducing post-flight inspection requirements.
Blue Origin manufactures BE-4 at its Kent, Washington, and Huntsville, Alabama facilities and has delivered engines to ULA for Vulcan Centaur production campaigns.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.