Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket remains grounded following a failed launch attempt involving a satellite from AST SpaceMobile. The incident has prompted an investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has ordered the company to conduct a mishap investigation.
Details of the Incident
The launch, which took place on Sunday, was intended to place an AST satellite into low Earth orbit. However, the rocket was unable to achieve the necessary altitude, resulting in the satellite being rendered unusable. Blue Origin’s chief executive, Dave Limp, attributed the failure to a lack of “sufficient thrust” in one of the rocket’s engines.
As a result of the failed launch, AST SpaceMobile’s share price fell by more than 6% on Monday. Limp acknowledged the failure, stating, “We clearly didn’t deliver the mission our customer wanted, and our team expects.”
Investigation and Oversight
The FAA will oversee the investigation led by Blue Origin. A spokesperson for the FAA confirmed that the agency will be involved in every step of the process and will approve Blue Origin’s final report, including any corrective actions that may be necessary.
Limp expressed confidence that the investigation would provide valuable insights, allowing Blue Origin to “learn from the data and implement the improvements needed to quickly return to flight operations.” The FAA will determine when the New Glenn rocket can be launched again based on the findings of the investigation.
Future Plans and Industry Context
This launch was only the third flight for the New Glenn rocket, and Blue Origin had planned approximately a dozen launches for the year. The satellite that was lost was part of AST’s efforts to provide mobile phone connectivity, a growing area of interest for tech companies.
Blue Origin has plans to launch thousands of satellites into low Earth orbit as part of a new initiative called TerraWave. Meanwhile, Amazon is expanding its presence in the space sector, having recently acquired a satellite manufacturer and operator for $11 billion to support its own project, called Leo.
Both Blue Origin’s and Amazon’s projects are seen as efforts to compete with Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which already has thousands of satellites in orbit providing connectivity to consumers.
Source: Original report