Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Misplaces AST SpaceMobile Satellite

Key facts

• A Blue Origin New Glenn reusable rocket failed to place the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 communications satellite in the designated low Earth orbit during its third mission on April 19, 2026.
• The launch was conducted from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S.
• The BlueBird 7 satellite will be de-orbited as its altitude is too low to sustain operations with its onboard thruster technology.
• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 6 satellite using the Launch Vehicle Mark-3 from Sriharikota on December 23.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has hired Blue Origin and SpaceX to provide landers to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the moon as soon as 2028.
• The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is overseeing a mishap investigation into the failure, which early data suggests was caused by one of the BE-3U engines producing insufficient thrust during the second GS2 burn.