Blue Origin Rocket Launches, Successfully Reuses Booster - But Loses Satellite
Source: Slashdot
New Glenn Malfunction
SpaceNews reports that Blue Origin’s New Glenn suffered a malfunction of its second stage on the rocket’s third flight on April 19, stranding its payload in an unrecoverable “off‑nominal” orbit. This setback comes as the company seeks to increase its flight rate.
AST SpaceMobile had planned to launch 45–60 satellites in 2024 for its D2D constellation, but BlueBird 7 is the first to launch since BlueBird 6 flew on an Indian LVM3 rocket in December.
Satellite Outlook
- AST SpaceMobile still expects to have 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year.
- In a March earnings call, the CEO said the company would soon start “stacking” satellites, “batched in groups of either three, four, six or eight in a single launch.”
- To support the launch cadence in 2026, the company expects the New Glenn booster to be reused every 30 days or less.
Booster Re‑flight Success
SpaceNews also highlighted the first successful re‑flight of a New Glenn first‑stage booster:
- The booster, nicknamed “Never Tell Me The Odds,” touched down on Blue Origin’s landing platform Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean ≈ 9 ½ minutes after liftoff.
- The same booster launched NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission on the NG‑2 flight in November.
- For the NG‑3 flight, the booster was only partially reused: all seven BE‑4 engines were replaced, and a thermal‑protection upgrade was tested on one nozzle.
- Dave Limp, chief executive of Blue Origin, stated that the engines used on NG‑2 will be employed on future flights.
Satellite De‑orbit
AST SpaceMobile announced that the stranded satellite will be de‑orbited. The company added that the satellite’s cost is expected to be recovered under its insurance policy.
Thanks to long‑time Slashdot reader schwit1 for sharing the news.