Blue Origin Finally Reused New Glenn, So Why Did The Satellite End Up In The Wrong Place?
It was a flight of two halves: New Glenn made history by reflying its massive first stage for the first time, only to see its upper stage stumble and deliver its payload into a uselessly low altitude, turning a landmark victory into a complex commercial setback.
Blue Origin has successfully reused one of its New Glenn rockets for the first time ever, marking a major milestone for the heavy-launch system as Jeff Bezos’ space company looks to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
But as TechCrunch reported, the mission’s overall success is in question. Roughly two hours after launch, Blue Origin revealed the communications satellite it carried for AST SpaceMobile wound up in an “off-nominal orbit,” meaning something went wrong with the rocket’s upper stage.
AST SpaceMobile confirmed the satellite’s onboard propulsion system could not compensate for the lower-than-planned altitude, and BlueBird 7 will be de-orbited. The company said it was fully insured.
What Blue Origin Actually Proved on This Flight
The company accomplished the reuse feat on just the third-ever launch of New Glenn, a little more than one year after the rocket’s first flight, a system that has been in development for more than a decade.
According to CBS News, the liftoff from Cape Canaveral came at 7:25 a.m. ET, 40 minutes after an unexplained hold, with the rocket’s seven BE-4 engines generating 3.8 million pounds of thrust.
The first stage separated cleanly about three minutes and nine seconds after liftoff and flew itself to an on-target touchdown on Blue Origin’s landing barge roughly nine minutes and 20 seconds after launch.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp confirmed the company replaced all seven engines on the refurbished booster and tested several upgrades, including a thermal protection system on one engine nozzle.
Why the Upper Stage Failure Matters
Making New Glenn reusable is crucial to its economics, SpaceX’s ability to re-fly Falcon 9 boosters is one of the main reasons it has come to dominate the global orbital launch market.
BlueBird 7 carried a 2,400-square-foot phased array antenna, the largest civilian antenna of its type ever placed in low Earth orbit, designed to provide space-based 4G and 5G broadband service directly to cellphone users worldwide.
Despite the mishap, AST SpaceMobile said it still targets approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026, supported by agreements with multiple launch providers.
What Is Actually at Stake for Blue Origin
Any trouble deploying AST’s satellite could present a risk to Blue Origin’s near-term plans, as the company has a deal to send multiple satellites to orbit over the next few years.
Blue Origin’s broader ambitions for New Glenn include competing with SpaceX for commercial, military, and science satellite launches, deploying Amazon’s LEO internet constellation to rival Starlink, and delivering NASA cargo and astronauts to the lunar surface. All of those plans will now depend on the results of an investigation into what went wrong on Sunday.
