What happened on Blue Origin's 3rd New Glenn rocket launch? Recap

• The mission successfully reused and landed its first-stage booster for a second time.
• A satellite for customer AST SpaceMobile was deployed into the wrong orbit and will be de-orbited.
• The launch was the third for the New Glenn rocket, which first flew in January 2025.

Blue Origin launched its towering New Glenn rocket for the third time ever on a mission from Florida that led to mixed results.

For Blue Origin, the spaceflight company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, the launch was largely a success.

Blue Origin succeeded for the first time in reusing a first stage booster, made to fly on at least 25 New Glenn flights. That booster then landed for the second time offshore near Florida so that Blue Origin can prepare it for another launch in the future.

But for AST SpaceMobile, Blue Origin's customer for the mission, the results were less than desired after the company's satellite failed to reach a high enough orbit in space.

Here's everything to know about the Blue Origin New Glenn rocket launch.

Did Blue Origin launch its New Glenn rocket?

Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket got off the ground at 7:25 a.m. ET Sunday, April 19, from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Because the launch was New Glenn's third-ever spaceflight after its January 2025 debut, Blue Origin refers to the mission as NG-3.

New Glenn launch deploys AST Bluebird 7 satellites into wrong orbit

The New Glenn rocket was due to help deliver to orbit broadband network satellites for AST SpaceMobile, a cellular broadband service provider. The BlueBird 7 satellite, with communication arrays as large as 2,400 square feet, would have been the largest satellites ever commercially deployed in low-Earth orbit, AST SpaceMobile said in a press release.

But the upper stage that flies in orbit using two of Blue Origin's BE-3U engines designed for the vacuum of space deployed the satellites to the wrong orbit. As a result, AST SpaceMobile said in a statement that the company would de-orbit the satellites.

Blue Origin referred to the satellite deployment as being in an "off-nominal" orbit, while AST SpaceMobile further clarified that the Bluebird 7 payload was "placed into a lower than planned orbit."

While the satellite powered on, "the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology," AST SpaceMobile said in a statement. The company added that the cost of the satellite is expected to be recovered under its insurance policy.

Blue Origin's booster reused in 1st, lands again in Atlantic Ocean

In a major milestone for Blue Origin, the company reused the 188-foot-tall first stage booster used on the previous launch in November, named "Never Tell Me the Odds." Launching the booster, which provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff, for a second time served as a pivotal step toward allowing New Glenn to launch more frequently.

The capability to recover and reuse boosters is one competitor SpaceX has also long perfected with its 230-foot Falcon 9 – the most active rocket in the world.

Once again, "Never Tell Me the Odds" – a reference to Han Solo's iconic line in "Star Wars" – landed on the deck of a drone ship several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic. The maneuver was completed as the booster used three of seven of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines to slow the vehicle down and deploy its six landing legs to touch down.

Jeff Bezos, who founded Blue Origin in 2000, shared a video on social media site X of the booster landing on the barge, named Jacklyn in honor of his late mother.

Photos of New Glenn rocket launch

What happened on previous New Glenn launches?

The New Glenn rocket last got off the ground Nov. 13 from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on a mission Blue Origin referred to as NG-2 that helped propel twin NASA ESCAPADE satellites on a journey to Mars. When the spacecraft reach Martian orbit, they are due to spend about a year orbiting the red planet to take simultaneous observations of solar winds and space weather.

Its maiden voyage on Jan. 16, 2025, was primary a test flight in which New Glenn's booster was unable to land on a drone ship in order to be recovered and reused.

What is the New Glenn rocket? How big is it?

Named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is a powerful two-stage rocket manufactured by Blue Origin classified as a heavy-lift launch vehicle.

The New Glenn rocket stands at about 320 feet tall, making it one of the largest rockets in the world.

Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn will be capable of shuttling both Amazon Leo satellites, formerly called Project Kuiper, and its separate TeraWave venture to a lower atmosphere called low-Earth orbit. Bezos also has plans for New Glenn to undertake other missions for paying customers – including NASA and telecommunications providers.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected]