Blue Origin grounded its New Glenn rocket after a weekend launch failed to deliver a satellite into the correct orbit, dooming the payload, the company said Monday. The New Glenn lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday, and its recycled first-stage booster performed as planned, including a landing on an ocean barge several minutes into the flight, according to the report.
In a statement on the failure, Blue Origin said a bad engine on the rocket’s upper stage prevented the satellite from reaching the high enough orbit required to begin operations. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said preliminary data indicate that one of the upper stage engines failed to produce enough thrust, leaving the satellite stranded in the wrong orbital conditions.
Blue Origin said the satellite was intended to join AST SpaceMobile’s orbiting network of satellites designed to provide direct space-to-smart phone service. The failed attempt was the third flight for New Glenn, Blue Origin’s large rocket built for delivering spacecraft to orbit.
After the weekend launch, Blue Origin and the Federal Aviation Administration moved to pause further launches while they complete their investigation. Blue Origin said launches of the New Glenn rocket are grounded until the company and the FAA finish reviewing what went wrong.
The report also said the rocket’s upper stage and the satellite reentered the atmosphere Monday, according to the U.S. Space Force, though no additional detail was available. With the payload lost, attention shifts to the upper-stage propulsion system and to the pace of the FAA-led review.
New Glenn stands more than 320 feet (98 meters) tall and is named for John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth in 1962, the report said. NASA is counting on New Glenn to launch Blue Moon lunar landers for the Artemis program, as SpaceX’s Starship is also in the running for moon landings as early as 2028.