Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket misplaces satellite in orbit during third launch

Blue Origin achieved a key milestone with the first successful reuse of its New Glenn rocket booster on Sunday, but the mission fell short of its primary objective after a customer satellite was placed into the wrong orbit.

The rocket was carrying a communications satellite for AST SpaceMobile when its upper stage delivered the spacecraft into an orbit that was “lower than planned,” the company said in a statement.

Although the BlueBird 7 satellite successfully separated and powered on, the altitude was insufficient to sustain operations.

As a result, the satellite will be de-orbited and burn up in Earth’s atmosphere. AST SpaceMobile confirmed that the loss is covered by insurance and noted that additional BlueBird satellites are already in production, with plans to continue launches through 2026.

The setback marks the first major failure for Blue Origin’s New Glenn program, which debuted in January 2025 after more than a decade in development.

The mission was only the second time the heavy-lift rocket carried a customer payload, following a previous launch supporting NASA.

Despite the payload issue, the launch demonstrated progress in reusability — a critical goal for reducing costs.

The booster, which had previously flown on an earlier mission, successfully returned and landed on a drone ship in the ocean, mirroring its prior recovery.

Blue Origin later confirmed that the rocket’s upper stage placed the satellite into an “off-nominal orbit” but has not provided further details on the cause of the anomaly.

The incident could have broader implications as Blue Origin seeks a larger role in future space missions, including NASA’s Artemis program aimed at returning humans to the Moon.

The company is also developing its own lunar lander and has indicated ambitions to support upcoming missions in the coming years.

The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, faces increasing competition from SpaceX, which has taken a more cautious approach in testing its next-generation Starship rocket by flying non-commercial payloads during early development.

While setbacks are not uncommon in the space industry — SpaceX itself experienced failures during early Falcon 9 missions — the outcome underscores the challenges of balancing rapid progress with commercial reliability.

For now, Blue Origin’s mixed-result launch highlights both the promise and the risks of its New Glenn program as it works to establish itself as a major player in the commercial spaceflight market.