Blue Origin’s Northstar Engine Puts Additive Manufacturing at the Center of a Lower-Cost Design-3DPTimes

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Blue Origin’s Northstar Engine Puts Additive Manufacturing at the Center of a Lower-Cost Design

November 7, 2026 News 7 Share to X.com

Blue Origin says more than 65% of Northstar is additively manufactured. The new booster engine promises higher thrust, fewer parts and lower mass, while reported cost savings remain company projections.

Northstar engine rendering. Image: Blue Origin. Use as the standalone cover; do not repeat it in the body if the website displays the cover above the article.*

Blue Origin has unveiled Northstar, a booster engine that makes extensive use of additive manufacturing. Announced on November 5, the liquid oxygen and liquefied natural gas engine delivers a stated 715,000 pounds-force of thrust, compared with 640,000 for BE-4.

The company says more than 65% of Northstar is produced through its in-house additive manufacturing capabilities. It also reports 30% less mass and half as many parts as BE-4. Blue Origin has not specified how it calculates the printed share, or detailed the printing processes and components involved.

Northstar retains an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle and single-shaft turbopump layout. Blue Origin says the program reached development testing 11 months after approval and describes assembly in less than a day. That assembly figure should not be read as the total time needed to manufacture and qualify an engine.

Ars Technica reports that Blue Origin expects Northstar to cost one-quarter as much to manufacture as BE-4. Its reporting also describes a production pace of roughly one engine every ten days. These are company-reported economics and production figures, rather than independently verified operating results.

For additive manufacturing, the announcement highlights a broader industrial question: whether fewer parts and faster assembly can translate into repeatable, economical propulsion production. 3DPrinting.com’s coverage similarly emphasizes the printed share while noting the limited disclosure of manufacturing details. Development testing will remain central to assessing the new design.

Sources

[Blue Origin: Introducing Northstar, November 5, 2026](https://www.blueorigin.com/zh-CN/news/introducing-northstar-new-booster-engine)