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7h ago

FAA Grounds Blue Origin’s New Glenn After Upper-Stage Failure Leaves AST Satellite Unusable

The required FAA mishap probe will set fixes before any return to flight.

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The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off from LC36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force station, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Blue Origin New Glenn rocket lifts off from LC36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force station, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
Spectators watch the sunrise from the beach at Cherie Down Park in Cape Canaveral, Fla., as they wait to watch the launch of the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket from the Cape Canaveral Space Force station, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Overview

  • New Glenn’s third flight on Sunday from Florida ended with BlueBird 7 in a too-low orbit, and AST says it will de-orbit the satellite.
  • The FAA grounded New Glenn and ordered a Blue Origin–led mishap investigation that must be approved before flights resume, with NASA, the NTSB, and the U.S. Space Force tracking the probe.
  • Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said early data point to one BE-3U upper-stage engine not producing enough thrust on a second burn, with the root cause still under review.
  • The mission did reuse and recover its first-stage booster on a drone ship, a step toward Blue Origin’s goal of frequent flights.
  • The loss adds schedule risk to AST’s target of about 45 satellites in orbit by late 2026, and its stock slid roughly 12% to 14% after the news.