The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered an investigation into the failure of the upper stage of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket during its third launch on Sunday. The malfunction occurred after the second stage separated from the booster, causing the communications satellite it was carrying to be placed in a lower-than-planned orbit. According to AST SpaceMobile, the company that commissioned the launch, the satellite is likely a lost cause and will burn up in the Earth's atmosphere.
The investigation, which Blue Origin must conduct before it can fly New Glenn again, could delay the company's ambitious plans to launch up to 12 more missions this year. Blue Origin was attempting to reuse a booster for the first time during the launch, a major step forward in developing and proving rocket reusability. However, the primary mission of delivering the communications satellite to space was unsuccessful due to the upper stage failure.
AST SpaceMobile has insurance coverage that will cover the cost of the lost satellite, and the company has multiple new satellites nearly complete that it expects to launch soon. The incident is not only a setback for Blue Origin's commercial plans but also raises concerns about its ability to meet its obligations in other areas, including NASA's lunar lander project and its bid to be certified by the U.S. Space Force to fly national security missions.
The stock price of AST SpaceMobile fell over 10% on Monday morning before recovering slightly. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said that one of the upper stage engines "didn't produce sufficient thrust to reach our target orbit," but it is unclear how long the investigation will take and what impact it will have on Blue Origin's future launches.
