Blue Origin launches New Glenn, suffers issue deploying craft

Blue Origin’s flagship New Glenn rocket launched to space on its third flight, reusing a booster for the first time but failing to correctly place the satellite it was carrying into its intended orbit.

The rocket took off from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, Florida at approximately 7:25 a.m. local time, and its reusable first stage returned to Earth at 7:35 am, touching down on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.  

While the satellite separated from New Glenn’s second stage, it entered an “off-nominal orbit,”, or the wrong orbit, Blue Origin said in a post on X. The company is assessing the satellite, which has powered on, and says it will provide more information.

Key to Blue Origin’s ambitious plans for space exploration, New Glenn is years behind schedule and has faced longer-than-expected waiting periods between its flights. The unexpected issue today could mark a setback for the company’s ambitious plans........

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