Blue Origin launched the corporate’s third New Glenn rocket Sunday, re-flying and efficiently recovering a beforehand used first stage. However the rocket’s second stage put the payload, a direct-to-cellphone communications satellite tv for pc, in an unusable orbit, officers stated.
AST SpaceMobile of Midland, Texas, builder of the BlueBird 7 satellite tv for pc, stated in a press release the mobile relay station’s on-board propulsion system couldn’t compensate for the lower-than-planned altitude.
Adam Bernstein/Spaceflightnow.com 
“Through the New Glenn 3 mission, BlueBird 7 was positioned right into a lower-than-planned orbit by the higher stage of the launch automobile,” the corporate stated. “Whereas the satellite tv for pc separated from the launch automobile and powered on, the altitude is simply too low to maintain operations with its on-board thruster know-how and can de-orbited.”
The price of the satellite tv for pc was not revealed, however the firm stated it was totally insured.
The New Glenn launched Sunday was Blue Origin’s third and the primary utilizing a beforehand flown first stage. The corporate is owned by Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos.
Liftoff from the Cape Canaveral Area Power Station got here at 7:25 a.m. ET, 40 minutes after an unexplained maintain within the countdown. When the depend lastly hit zero, the towering rocket’s seven methane-burning BE-4 engines ignited with a floor shaking roar and the booster started climbing away atop 3.8 million kilos of thrust.
Blue Origin 
The primary stage appeared to work flawlessly, shutting down and falling away as deliberate about three minutes and 9 seconds after liftoff. The rocket’s second stage, powered by two BE-3 engines, then ignited to proceed the climb to an preliminary orbit.
The primary stage, in the meantime, headed for a Blue Origin’s touchdown barge stationed a number of hundred miles down vary within the Atlantic Ocean, flying itself to an on-target landing about 9 minutes and 20 seconds after launch.
The identical stage completed the identical feat final November through the second flight of a New Glenn — NG-2 — albeit utilizing a unique set of engines.
“With our first refurbished booster we elected to switch all seven engines and take a look at out just a few upgrades together with a thermal safety system on one of many engine nozzles,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated in an earlier social media submit. “We plan to make use of the engines we flew for NG-2 on future flights.”
About two-and-a-half minutes after the primary stage touchdown Sunday, the second stage engines shut down as deliberate. A second higher stage engine firing was anticipated an hour and 10 minutes after launch, however that point got here and went with none updates from Blue Origin.
About an hour later, nonetheless, the corporate reported the satellite tv for pc had not been launched into its supposed orbit. The submit didn’t say whether or not the second higher stage engine firing truly befell or if it did, whether or not it ran for the total period.
“We now have confirmed payload separation,” Blue Origin posted on X. “AST SpaceMobile has confirmed the satellite tv for pc has powered on. The payload was positioned into an off-nominal orbit. We’re presently assessing and can replace when we have now extra detailed data.”
The BlueBird 7 satellite tv for pc was geared up with a 2,400-square-foot phased array antenna, the biggest civilian antenna of its kind ever put in low-Earth orbit.
The satellite tv for pc is the second in a brand new technology of AST SpaceMobile information relay stations designed to seamlessly present space-based 4G and 5G mobile broadband service on to cellular phone customers wherever on the earth.
AST SpaceMobile 
The corporate plans to deploy as much as 60 such “block two” BlueBirds in an preliminary constellation, launching them with SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, Indian LVM3 boosters and Blue Origin’s New Glenn.
Regardless of the mishap Sunday, AST SpaceMobile stated it “continues to count on an orbital launch each one to 2 months on common throughout 2026, supported by agreements with a number of launch suppliers, and it continues to focus on roughly 45 satellites in orbit by the top of 2026.”
Blue Origin plans to compete head-to-head with SpaceX to ship business, army and science satellites to Earth orbit and deep house whereas deploying a fleet of Amazon-owned space-based LEO web satellites supposed to compete with SpaceX’s already-established Starlink system.
Blur Origin is also growing moon landers to ship NASA cargo and astronauts to the lunar floor.
The New Glenn rocket is vital to all of these ventures. The corporate tentatively plans to launch a prototype Blue Moon lander on an unpiloted take a look at flight late this summer season or early fall, adopted by one and presumably two launches of Amazon LEO web satellites earlier than the top of the 12 months.
However these plans will rely upon the outcomes of an investigation into what went improper Sunday.
