The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket after the vehicle failed to deliver a customer satellite to its intended orbit during Sunday's launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The rocket's second stage malfunctioned during flight, leaving AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite in an orbit too low to sustain operations.
The launch began successfully at 1125 UTC on Sunday, with New Glenn's reusable first stage completing its mission and landing on Blue Origin's Jacklyn floating platform. This marked the first time the Jeff Bezos-owned company had reused a New Glenn booster, a significant milestone in its competition with SpaceX. However, the mission's primary objective failed when the rocket's upper stage shut off its engines during what Blue Origin called a "coast phase" after reaching an "off-nominal" orbit.
AST SpaceMobile confirmed that BlueBird 7 was placed into a "lower-than-planned orbit" at approximately 95 miles altitude, far below the intended 285-mile orbit. The satellite, which was meant to join the company's space-based cellular broadband network, cannot reach a usable position with its onboard thrusters and will be de-orbited. AST SpaceMobile said the satellite's cost will be covered by insurance and that BlueBird 8-10 are expected to be ready for launch within 30 days.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp explained in a Monday statement that "early data suggest that on our second GS2 burn, one of the BE-3U engines didn't produce sufficient thrust to reach our target orbit." The company is leading the anomaly investigation with FAA oversight. This represents the third mission for New Glenn, which was previously grounded for nearly three months after its debut launch when Blue Origin was unable to land the booster.
The outlets covering this story emphasized different aspects of the failure. The Verge focused on the FAA's grounding decision and drew parallels to previous rocket groundings, while Engadget highlighted the potential impact on Blue Origin's planned Amazon Leo satellite missions later this year. TechCrunch emphasized the broader implications for Blue Origin's lunar ambitions and Space Force certification efforts, while The Register took a more sardonic approach, noting the irony of a Bezos company "leaving a package in the wrong place."
The failure comes at a critical time for Blue Origin's commercial ambitions. The company had planned up to 12 New Glenn missions this year, including launches for Amazon's Leo broadband constellation and additional AST SpaceMobile satellites. More significantly, Blue Origin is developing a lunar lander for NASA's Artemis program and seeking U.S. Space Force certification for national security missions. The investigation's duration will determine whether these timelines remain viable.
The mishap underscores the challenges facing commercial space companies as they scale operations. While Blue Origin achieved the technically demanding feat of booster reuse, the upper stage failure highlights how a single component malfunction can doom an entire mission. AST SpaceMobile's stock fell more than 10% Monday morning before partially recovering, reflecting investor concerns about the reliability of newer launch providers compared to established players like SpaceX.
The FAA's investigation will focus on determining the root cause and implementing corrective actions before clearing New Glenn to fly again. The agency stated that "return to flight is based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap does not affect public safety." This marks the latest in a series of rocket groundings by the FAA, which has previously halted operations for SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Starship, as well as Blue Origin's smaller New Shepard vehicle.
This story was covered by The Verge and Engadget (both centre-left tech publications), TechCrunch (centre, startup-focused), and The Register (centre, UK-based tech outlet with irreverent tone).
The investigation timeline will be crucial for Blue Origin's 2026 launch manifest. With Amazon Leo missions scheduled for later this year and NASA's Artemis III demonstrations planned for 2027, any extended grounding could significantly impact the company's role in both commercial and government space programs. Watch for the FAA's preliminary findings and Blue Origin's proposed corrective measures in the coming weeks.
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