Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket completed its third flight with successful booster reuse, but failed to place its AST SpaceMobile satellite into the intended orbit. The satellite entered an "off-nominal orbit" despite successful separation from the second stage. The incident threatens Blue Origin's ambitions to execute 8-12 launches in 2026 and its positioning as a SpaceX Falcon 9 alternative.
Strategy
Blue Origin launches New Glenn, suffers issue deploying craft
Blue Origin's New Glenn achieves booster reuse but deploys AST SpaceMobile to the wrong orbit, jeopardizing its bid to become a SpaceX rival with 8-12 launches planned for 2026.
Sunday, April 19, 2026 12:00 PM UTC2 MIN READSOURCE: Fortune AIBY sys://pipeline
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