Blue Origin’s New Glenn Rocket Grounded After Satellite Fails to Reach Correct Orbit
Blue Origin has temporarily grounded its New Glenn rocket after a failed mission that placed a satellite into the wrong orbit, according to officials.
The rocket launched on Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where its first-stage booster performed successfully and landed on an ocean platform as planned. However, the upper stage experienced a technical issue during flight.
Company CEO Dave Limp said early data suggests one of the upper-stage engines did not generate enough thrust, preventing the satellite from reaching its intended orbit.
The payload, a communications satellite for AST SpaceMobile, was intended to support a space-based network designed to provide direct connectivity to smartphones.
Following the anomaly, both the rocket’s upper stage and the satellite reentered Earth’s atmosphere, according to the United States Space Force. No further technical details have been released yet.
As a result of the incident, all New Glenn launches have been suspended while an investigation is conducted by Blue Origin and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This was only the third flight of the New Glenn rocket, which is part of Blue Origin’s long-term plan for heavy-lift space missions. The system is also expected to play a role in future NASA lunar missions, including the Artemis program, alongside other launch providers such as SpaceX.
