Blue Origin’s New Glenn put a customer satellite in the wrong orbit during its third launch
Source: TechCrunch
Launch overview
Blue Origin successfully re‑used a New Glenn rocket for the first time on Sunday, lifting off at 7:35 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The booster, which had flown on New Glenn’s second mission, returned to a drone ship about 10 minutes after liftoff, and Jeff Bezos shared drone‑footage of the landing on X.
Roughly two hours after launch, Blue Origin announced that the New Glenn upper stage placed the AST SpaceMobile “BlueBird 7” satellite into an “off‑nominal orbit.” No further details have been released.
Satellite issue
AST SpaceMobile said the upper stage delivered the satellite into an orbit lower than planned. Although the satellite separated, powered on, and is functional, the altitude is too low to sustain operations, and it will have to be de‑orbited and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.
The loss is covered by AST SpaceMobile’s insurance policy, and the company expects to complete successive BlueBird satellites within about a month. AST SpaceMobile has contracts with multiple launch providers and aims to launch 45 more satellites by the end of 2026.
Implications for Blue Origin
This marks the first major failure for the New Glenn program, which only made its maiden flight in January 2025 after more than a decade of development. It was the second New Glenn mission carrying a customer payload, following a twin‑spacecraft launch for NASA’s Mars program last November.
The setback could affect Blue Origin’s broader commercial ambitions, including its push to become a primary launch provider for NASA’s Artemis lunar missions. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp has said the company will “move heaven and Earth” to help NASA return to the Moon faster.
Comparison with SpaceX
Blue Origin chose to launch a commercial payload early in New Glenn’s flight‑test program, whereas SpaceX has used dummy payloads while iterating on its Starship vehicle. SpaceX has experienced its own payload losses: in 2015 the 19th Falcon 9 mission exploded mid‑flight, destroying an ISS cargo spacecraft, and in 2016 a Falcon 9 exploded on the launch pad, destroying a Meta internet satellite.
Sources
- TechCrunch: Blue Origin successfully re‑uses a New Glenn rocket for the first time ever
- Ars Technica: Blue Origin will move heaven and Earth to help NASA reach the Moon faster, CEO says
- TechCrunch: Blue Origin schedules third New Glenn launch for late February, but not to the Moon
- Jeff Bezos’ X post showing booster landing
- Blue Origin’s X announcement of off‑nominal orbit