The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday ordered Blue Origin to investigate a failure of the second stage of its New Glenn rocket after the vehicle did not place a commercial satellite into its intended orbit.
The rocket launched successfully from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday. Its reusable first-stage booster performed well and landed on an ocean barge, but the upper stage failed to deliver the AST SpaceMobile communications satellite to a high enough orbit for operations. Preliminary data, according to Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp, suggests one of the upper-stage engines did not generate sufficient thrust. The US Space Force reported that the upper stage and the satellite subsequently reentered the atmosphere.
The FAA has required Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, to conduct a mishap investigation, submit a final report, obtain agency approval before resuming flights, and take any necessary corrective actions.
Sunday’s flight was only the third for the 29-story New Glenn rocket, named after John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. NASA plans to use New Glenn for Blue Moon lunar landers as part of the Artemis program; SpaceX’s Starship is also competing to carry astronauts to the moon by 2028. The New Glenn launch came after a series of delays and followed NASA’s Artemis II mission, which sent four astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have traveled before.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse