Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is grounded after launching satellite into wrong orbit
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Jeff Bezos’ rocket company Blue Origin on Monday blamed a bad engine for a failed weekend launch that left a satellite in the wrong orbit, effectively dooming it.
Launches of the massive New Glenn rocket are on hold until Blue Origin and the Federal Aviation Administration complete their investigation.
The rocket took off from the Cape Canaveral space station on Sunday. The recycled first stage booster performed well, landing on an ocean barge several minutes into the flight. But the upper stage was unable to place the satellite in a high enough orbit to begin operations.
Preliminary data indicates that one of the upper stage engines failed to produce enough thrust, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said Monday.
It is not yet clear when or where the rocket’s upper stage or the AST SpaceMobile satellite might plunge into the atmosphere. The satellite was supposed to join AST SpaceMobile’s orbiting satellite network designed to provide direct service from space to smartphones.
It was only the third flight of New Glenn, Blue Origin’s massive rocket designed to put spaceships into orbit. NASA is counting on New Glenn to launch the Blue Moon lunar landers for the Artemis lunar program. SpaceX’s Starship is also in the running to land astronauts on the Moon as early as 2028.
Rising more than 320 feet (98 meters), the rocket is named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth in 1962.
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