Blue Origin Rocket Stumbles on First Commercial Mission
Jeff Bezos’ rocket company said a satellite from customer AST SpaceMobile was deployed into an incorrect orbit
- Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket experienced a mission hiccup during its first commercial launch, placing a satellite into an incorrect orbit.
- During the flight, New Glenn’s third ever, the vehicle’s huge booster returned safely to Earth.
- AST SpaceMobile had touted the satellite, BlueBird 7, as the largest communications array ever deployed in low-Earth orbit.
Blue Origin’s first commercial launch for its massive new rocket suffered a mission hiccup Sunday, a setback for Jeff Bezos’ rocket company.
The launch of the company’s New Glenn rocket started smoothly, with the vehicle shooting into the sky from the Blue Origin launch site in the Cape Canaveral, Fla., area. During the flight, New Glenn’s third ever, the vehicle’s huge booster returned safely to Earth, a feat only Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX have achieved with orbital rockets.
But the mission later suffered a mishap. A satellite the rocket was carrying into orbit for AST SpaceMobile ASTS -5.95%decrease; red down pointing triangle, a company building a cellular broadband network in space, wasn’t deployed correctly.
In a post on X, Blue Origin said its rocket delivered AST’s satellite into an incorrect location in space: “The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit,” the company said, adding that teams were assessing what happened.
AST said the satellite’s altitude was too low to sustain operations and that it will be taken out of orbit. The cost is expected to be covered under its insurance policy and the company said it expects an orbital launch every month or two this year.
The stumble comes as Blue Origin works to ramp up flights with New Glenn to address a backlog of flights, and better challenge SpaceX’s command position in the launch market. The setback Sunday is a reminder of the difficulty rocket companies often face as they attempt to more regularly fly complex, expensive machines.
United Launch Alliance, the rocket operator owned by Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has dealt with its own struggles with a new rocket, called Vulcan Centaur. SpaceX’s Starship vehicle has had its fits and starts during flight tests last year.
Texas-based AST invited shareholders to watch the New Glenn launch live. AST said before the launch that its satellite, called BlueBird 7, would be the largest communications array ever deployed in low-Earth orbit.