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Blue Origin's New Glenn Mission 3 (NG-3) was supposed to mark another step forward for the company's long-awaited entry into the commercial space launch market. Instead, the heavy-lift rocket's third flight ended in a partial failure and, for now, a full stop. The Federal Aviation Administration has grounded the New Glenn vehicle from future missions following a "mishap" during Sunday's launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida until an investigation into the incident can be completed.
The mission wasn't a total loss. New Glenn's reusable first-stage booster performed as expected and landed successfully. However, the upper stage failed at the job that mattered most for the mission: delivering its payload into the correct orbit.
That payload (the BlueBird 7 communications satellite for AST SpaceMobile, Blue Origin's first commercial launch payload for a customer) was supposed to be deployed into a roughly 285-mile orbit. Instead, it reached only about 95 miles -- far too low for the satellite's boosters to keep it in orbit. BlueBird 7 will now be deorbited and destroyed during reentry.
The issue appears to trace back to the rocket's upper stage. In a statement Monday, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said "one of the BE-3U engines didn't produce sufficient thrust" during its second burn, a critical phase that's needed to raise and circularize the orbit. Without it, the rocket didn't have the energy to get the satellite where it needed to go.
The consequences of that shortfall begin with the FAA classifying the event as a "mishap," which sounds innocuous, but automatically triggers a mandatory grounding of the New Glenn vehicle while a full safety review is conducted. Blue Origin will lead the investigation under FAA oversight, working to pinpoint the root cause and outline corrective actions.
Until the agency determines the issue poses no risk to public safety, New Glenn isn't flying again. How long that process takes is uncertain and can vary wildly. The last time New Glenn was grounded, following a landing failure on its debut mission, it was unable to fly again for months.
The longer the rocket is grounded, the more friction this will apply to Blue Origin's 2026 and 2027 plans. In the short term, ripples may delay the deployment of Amazon's already-delayed satellite broadband network, which would rely in part on New Glenn. Further out, the company's Blue Moon MK1 lander mission's target may also be affected by how long New Glenn remains sidelined.
Then there's the reputational hit. This was New Glenn's first mission carrying a commercial customer payload, which would have been a key milestone for the heavy-lift rocket program. While AST SpaceMobile expects the cost of the satellite to be "recovered under the company's insurance policy," this is certainly egg on Blue Origin's face and an opportunity for competitors like SpaceX to exploit.
AST SpaceMobile said in a statement issued Sunday evening that it expects to continue its plans to expand its satellite network with "an orbital launch every one to two months on average during 2026," supported by agreements with multiple launch providers.
Blue Origin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
