Blue Origin New Glenn Suffers First Launch Failure on BlueBird Block 2 Mission
Summary: On April 19, 2026, Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket experienced an anomaly during its fourth flight, failing to deliver the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird Block 2 satellite to its intended orbit. The mission failure occurred just hours after Blue Origin celebrated a successful NG-3 mission with the BlueBird 7 satellite. This marks the first launch failure for the New Glenn vehicle since its inaugural flight in January 2025.
Credit: NASA / Kennedy Space Center
At 11:25 UTC on April 19, 2026, Blue Origin launched the BlueBird Block 2 satellite aboard a New Glenn rocket from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. This was the fourth flight of the New Glenn rocket and the company's first attempt to fly the same booster for the third time at orbital velocity.
Blue Origin confirmed in a subsequent statement that the first stage and booster recovery performed nominally, but an anomaly occurred during upper stage flight, preventing the satellite from reaching its intended orbit. AST SpaceMobile later confirmed that the BlueBird Block 2 satellite was not deployed in the correct orbit and that the company was evaluating options for the spacecraft.
Just hours earlier, Blue Origin had celebrated a successful NG-3 mission with the BlueBird 7 satellite reaching orbit and establishing communications with ground stations. The two missions, though both involving BlueBird satellites, were distinct flight opportunities — NG-3 and New Glenn #4 (BlueBird Block 2 #2).
New Glenn has now conducted four flights with a record of three successes and one failure. Blue Origin has not yet disclosed the detailed cause of the anomaly, stating that a formal report will be released after data analysis is complete. CEO Dave Limp had previously stated that the New Glenn booster is designed for up to 25 reuses, and the company remains committed to its reusability roadmap.