This super-heavy version of New Glenn will feature nine of the company’s rocket engines on the booster stage, and four on the upper stage. That’s up from seven and two, respectively, on the current version, which Blue Origin says will continue to fly alongside the super-heavy variant. Blue Origin is now referring to the two versions as New Glenn 9×4 and New Glenn 7×2.

That added firepower will increase the New Glenn booster’s total thrust and allow it to carry “over 70 metric tons to low-Earth orbit,” slightly below Starship’s current theoretical capacity of 100 metric tons. SpaceX is working on new versions of Starship that could double that figure.

The larger New Glenn will feature a much larger fairing (the forward-facing shield that covers the rocket’s payload) to allow bigger payloads at the top of the rocket. The added capability will put Blue Origin in play for missions centered around “mega-constellations, lunar and deep space explorations, and national security imperatives such as Golden Dome.”

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The 7×2 version of New Glenn received some updates on Thursday as well. Its total thrust has increased, and it will now feature reusable fairings. Other smaller upgrades were made in order to reduce the turnaround time between launches, according to Blue Origin.

Nice to see competition for SpaceX.