The New Glenn Rocket Launch: A Step Forward with Setbacks
The reusable booster of the New Glenn rocket, developed by Jeff Bezos’ company Blue Origin, successfully touched down after launching from Florida on Sunday. However, the mission faced a setback as the AST SpaceMobile communications satellite it was carrying did not reach the intended orbit. This launch marked another significant moment in the growing competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The launch took place at around 7:25 a.m. ET (1125 GMT) from Cape Canaveral, with the booster landing approximately 10 minutes later. New Glenn was responsible for delivering AST’s BlueBird 7 satellite into low-Earth orbit. According to a statement from AST, the satellite was placed into a lower orbit than planned due to an issue with the upper stage of the launch vehicle.
“Although the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will be de-orbited,” AST explained.
This satellite was designed to connect directly with smartphones, aiming to establish a space-based cellular broadband network similar to Amazon’s Leo or SpaceX’s Starlink. The mission was crucial for demonstrating the reliability of New Glenn’s booster reuse capability and its ability to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
The Booster’s Name and Its Significance
The booster, named “Never Tell Me the Odds,” previously flew on the second mission in November and was recovered, setting up this milestone attempt. The name is a nod to a line from the film “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” where Han Solo famously says, “Never tell me the odds.”
Following a series of delays this month, the mission coincided with increased activity in the space sector, including the successful NASA Artemis II lunar flyby, which took humans further from Earth than any previous mission.
In November, Blue Origin announced plans to build a more powerful variant of the New Glenn rocket called New Glenn 9×4. This development highlights the company’s long-term vision for space exploration and commercial launches.
AST Satellite Constellation and Future Plans
New Glenn is designed for the higher end of the commercial launch market, featuring a seven-meter (23-foot) nose cone that allows it to carry bulkier payloads, including multiple satellites in a single mission.
“We foundationally developed New Glenn for what we think space is going to look like 50 to 100 years from now,” said Jordan Charles, Vice President of New Glenn.
AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 is the second satellite in its next-generation Block 2 constellation. The satellite features the largest commercial communications array deployed in low-Earth orbit. AST is currently in production through BlueBird 32, with BlueBird 8 to 10 expected to be ready for shipment in about 30 days.
Competition Between SpaceX and Blue Origin
SpaceX recently reported that it confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion. The competition between these two companies has intensified, especially as they race to help return people to the moon ahead of China’s planned crewed mission in 2030.
Both companies are designing lunar landers that NASA will use for future missions. In response to a post on X from Bezos regarding Sunday’s launch, Musk acknowledged the event and congratulated Bezos.
SpaceX is building a massive stainless-steel Starship-based Human Landing System, while Blue Origin is developing a more traditional Blue Moon lander. Blue Origin aims to achieve a pivotal uncrewed soft lunar landing, Mark 1, this summer.
NASA’s next Artemis mission, planned for next year, will test both landers while in Earth orbit before the mission that would return astronauts to the moon for the first time since 1972.
“New Glenn is the vehicle that can take NASA or anyone, anywhere in the solar system,” said Laura Maginnis, New Glenn mission vice president.
