The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday ordered Blue Origin to investigate a failure of the New Glenn rocket’s second stage after the vehicle failed to place a commercial satellite into its planned orbit.
The rocket lifted off successfully from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday. Its reusable first-stage booster performed well and returned to land on an ocean barge, but the upper stage did not achieve the velocity or altitude required for the AST SpaceMobile communications satellite to begin operations. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said preliminary data indicate one of the upper-stage engines did not produce sufficient thrust. The U.S. Space Force reported the upper stage and the satellite later reentered the atmosphere.
The FAA has directed Blue Origin, owned by Jeff Bezos, to conduct a mishap investigation, submit a final report to the agency, obtain FAA approval before resuming flights and implement any corrective actions the agency requires.
Sunday’s flight was only the third launch of the 29-story New Glenn rocket, named for John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth. NASA has plans to use New Glenn to deliver Blue Moon lunar landers for the Artemis program, while SpaceX’s Starship is also a contender to carry astronauts to the moon by 2028. The New Glenn launch followed a period of delays and came after NASA’s Artemis II mission, which sent four astronauts farther from Earth than any humans have traveled before.
Edited by: Louis Oelofse