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Blue Origin's New Glenn Rockets to Rival SpaceX
16 Apr
Summary
- New Glenn's third mission aims to prove booster reusability.
- The rocket will carry AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite.
- Success could challenge SpaceX's orbital launch dominance.
Blue Origin's third New Glenn mission is scheduled to launch on Friday, carrying AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to low-Earth orbit. This launch is a critical demonstration of the 29-story heavy-lift rocket's capabilities, particularly its reusable booster, a technology that underpins SpaceX's current market dominance.
Successfully proving booster reuse on this mission, named 'Never Tell Me the Odds,' would challenge SpaceX's nine-year monopoly on such capability. This event marks a significant step towards a more competitive space launch market, with Blue Origin aiming to narrow the performance gap with its primary competitor.
The New Glenn rocket is designed for high-end commercial launches, featuring a large payload fairing capable of carrying multiple satellites. The BlueBird 7 satellite, part of AST SpaceMobile's constellation, aims to create a space-based cellular broadband network, connecting directly to smartphones.
AST SpaceMobile plans to deploy 45 to 60 similar satellites by the end of 2026, furthering its goal of ubiquitous mobile connectivity. The mission's launch window is between 6:45 a.m. and 12:19 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
