Earlier this week, Blue Origin posted a job opportunity for a \u201csenior manager\u201d to oversee tank fabrication for \u201cQuattro,\u201d and the description contained some intriguing information.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs part of a hardworking team of specialists, technicians, and engineers you will be the Senior Manager of Gen 2.0 Tank Fabrication, and will own the production execution of the most structurally complex and schedule-critical subsystem on the vehicle\u2014the propellant tank,\u201d the job posting states.<\/p>\n
Quattro is the company\u2019s nickname for a more powerful upper stage for the New Glenn rocket, which will feature four BE-3U engines instead of the two currently powering the booster. Blue Origin revealed plans for this more powerful variant of New Glenn, 9\u00d74 (nine first stage engines, and four upper stage engines), last November.<\/p>\n
It is possible this rocket, significantly larger than the 7\u00d72 variant currently flying and necessary for the company\u2019s lunar ambitions as part of NASA\u2019s Artemis program, could make its debut next year.<\/p>\n
There is some additional information in the posting that underscores the ambition Blue Origin is chasing with its New Glenn vehicle, which has launched three times since its initial flight in January 2025.<\/p>\n
The job responsibilities include executing a \u201crate ramp\u201d\u2014which is to say, a production rate\u2014of 12 per year currently to 60 per year by the third quarter of 2028, followed by a production rate of 100 second stages annually by 2029. A company official told Ars that these production targets are accurate.<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
For the time being, Blue Origin is still studying whether to pursue a reusable upper stage for New Glenn, so each launch of the vehicle requires a new upper stage. A production rate of 60 a year in 2028 suggests the company is targeting a launch rate of 60 New Glenn 9\u00d74 rockets annually just three years from now. That would be in addition to the 7\u00d72 variant currently flying, which would continue to be used for less demanding missions.<\/p>\n
These targets, of course, are overly optimistic. Before the year 2025, for example, Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos told the company he wanted New Glenn to launch eight times that year. It ended up flying twice, in January and November. And frankly, for such a large and new rocket, that is not a bad flight rate at all, especially with the company landing the first stage of the second New Glenn launch successfully.<\/p>\n
The company is also dealing with an upper stage anomaly on the most recent launch of New Glenn earlier this month. So no one should be penciling in several dozen launches a year before the end of this decade just yet.<\/p>\n
However, it would also be foolish to dismiss Blue Origin\u2019s aspiration to launch the super heavy lift rocket frequently. Bezos continues to make major investments in infrastructure in Florida, most recently in an 800,000-square-foot new manufacturing facility known as \u201cProject Horizon.\u201d It is possible that New Glenn second stages could be manufactured at this facility.<\/p>\n
And if you want to be the person responsible for building 100 tanks a year for these stages, it sounds like Blue Origin has a job open for you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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