Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is grounded after failed satellite launch

Blue Origin announced Monday that an engine malfunction was responsible for a failed weekend launch that left an AST SpaceMobile satellite stranded in an unsuitable orbit, effectively ending its mission.

The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, revealed that preliminary data showed one of the upper stage engines on their New Glenn rocket failed to generate sufficient thrust during Sunday’s launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This technical failure prevented the satellite from reaching its intended operational orbit.

“Our initial analysis indicates a performance issue with the upper stage engine,” said Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp in a statement addressing the incident. The company will now work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate the cause of the failure before any future launches can proceed.

The U.S. Space Force confirmed that both the rocket’s upper stage and the satellite reentered Earth’s atmosphere on Monday, effectively ending the mission. The satellite was designed to be part of AST SpaceMobile’s constellation providing direct-to-smartphone connectivity from space—a growing sector in the satellite communications industry.

While the mission ended in failure, the launch did achieve a partial success. The massive rocket’s first stage, a reusable component central to Blue Origin’s cost-reduction strategy similar to rival SpaceX, performed as expected and successfully landed on an ocean platform several minutes after liftoff.

This setback represents a significant blow to Blue Origin’s commercial launch ambitions. New Glenn, standing more than 320 feet tall (98 meters), is the company’s flagship orbital rocket, named after astronaut John Glenn, who became the first American to orbit Earth in 1962. The vehicle is crucial to Blue Origin’s plans to compete with established players in the satellite launch market.

The failure also has potential implications beyond commercial launches. NASA has selected Blue Origin’s New Glenn to deliver Blue Moon lunar landers as part of the agency’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface. The Artemis program represents NASA’s most ambitious human spaceflight initiative in decades, with plans to establish a sustainable human presence on the Moon later this decade.

Blue Origin faces competition in this lunar endeavor from SpaceX, whose larger Starship vehicle is also contracted to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface. Both companies are racing to prove their vehicles’ reliability, with NASA targeting lunar landings as early as 2028.

This incident marks only the third flight for the New Glenn rocket, highlighting the inherent challenges in rocket development and space launch operations. New launch vehicles typically experience higher failure rates during their early operational periods as engineering teams work through unforeseen issues that emerge during real-world launches.

The satellite communications market has become increasingly competitive in recent years, with companies like AST SpaceMobile, Starlink, OneWeb, and Amazon’s Project Kuiper all developing large satellite constellations. AST SpaceMobile’s approach is particularly innovative, as it aims to allow standard smartphones to connect directly to satellites without requiring specialized equipment.

For Blue Origin, founded in 2000, the partial failure represents a setback in its gradual progression from suborbital tourist flights to more complex orbital missions. The company has invested heavily in developing New Glenn as part of its long-term vision of enabling millions of people to live and work in space.

Industry analysts note that while launch failures are setbacks, they provide valuable data that ultimately leads to more reliable vehicles. Blue Origin will now likely implement design changes or operational procedures to address the identified engine issue before returning New Glenn to flight.