FAA grounds Blue Origin's New Glenn after launch fails to deliver payload

[midian182]

Facepalm: Blue Origin has hit another problem in its attempt to establish New Glenn as a serious rival to SpaceX. The FAA has grounded the heavy-lift rocket after its latest mission failed to place a customer payload into the intended orbit, triggering what the agency calls a mishap investigation.

The launch itself, which took place on April 19 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, didn't look like a disaster – at least not at first.

New Glenn lifted off normally, and Blue Origin successfully recovered the reusable first-stage booster on a drone ship, a major milestone for a company still trying to prove it can handle routine orbital missions. Even so, the failed payload delivery underscored how far Blue Origin still has to go before New Glenn can be considered dependable.

The problem came later, during second-stage operations, when the rocket failed to deliver AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to its planned orbit.

That failure proved fatal for the payload. AST SpaceMobile said BlueBird 7 was placed into a lower-than-planned orbit, separated from the rocket, and powered on, but the altitude was too low for the satellite to sustain operations using its onboard propulsion.

The company said it will de-orbit the spacecraft, and that the loss is expected to be covered by insurance.

Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said early data points to trouble during the second burn of the upper stage. He added that one of the BE-3U engines did not produce enough thrust to reach the target orbit. That lines up with the FAA's statement that New Glenn 3 experienced a mishap during the second-stage flight sequence after an otherwise successful launch.

As usual in cases like this, New Glenn cannot fly again until Blue Origin completes its investigation. The FAA oversees the process, and the agency signs off on the final report and any corrective actions.

It's bad timing for Blue Origin, which has been trying to ramp up New Glenn's flight cadence and position the rocket for a mix of commercial, military, and NASA missions. This was the vehicle's third flight, and NASA is counting on New Glenn for future Blue Moon-related Artemis work.

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FAA grounds Blue Origin's New Glenn after launch fails to deliver payload

 

[MasterMace]

Oh no, Dr Evil is going to be pissed that his **** rocket can't get up.

 

[Dreadcthulhu]

It looks like the next scheduled launch for Blue Origin is in September; this "grounding" is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things; its not like they are launching rockets every other day or something.

 

[mbrowne5061]

It looks like the next scheduled launch for Blue Origin is in September; this "grounding" is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things; its not like they are launching rockets every other day or something.

If the report isn't completed, accepted, and corrective actions approved & implemented by the time of launch - that launch won't happen. That will also apply if corrective action applies to any already-installed hardware in the lift vehicle planned for Sept.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Oh no, Dr Evil is going to be pissed that his **** rocket can't get up.

That wasn't really the problem. It's that the rocket climaxed prematurely, causing the payload to be inserted into the wrong destination.

 

[MasterMace]

That wasn't really the problem. It's that the rocket climaxed prematurely, causing the payload to be inserted into the wrong destination.

I think you misinterpreted, my post is about the post premature climax erratic insertion period where he's going to be awkwardly asking for more and denied by the powers that be.

 

[wiyosaya]

That wasn't really the problem. It's that the rocket climaxed prematurely, causing the payload to be inserted into the wrong destination.

That was the result, however, the cause sounds like it was one of the upper stage engines failed to produce enough thrust, at least according to a preliminary assessment.

I have no doubt that Blue Origin will resolve the problem.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Separately, on the same day SpaceX achieved its 600th landing (out of 630 launches): https://www.space.com/space-explora...-17-22-b1097-vsfb-ofisly-600th-falcon-landing

Rocket Lab is seldom talked about, but I believe they are the #2 launch company in the world right now. They can only launch small payloads, but they do it at a fraction of the cost of everyone else. They've also been working on a partially reusable, medium-lift rocket "Neutron" (much like Falcon 9), and its first launch is expected at the end of this year or later: https://spacenews.com/rocket-lab-delays-neutron-debut-to-late-2026/

 

[wiyosaya]

Separately, on the same day SpaceX achieved its 600th landing (out of 630 launches): https://www.space.com/space-explora...-17-22-b1097-vsfb-ofisly-600th-falcon-landing

Now if they can only get starship and their lunar lander back on schedule. The race to the moon is between SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the Chinese ATM.

 

[GeforcerFX]

That was the result, however, the cause sounds like it was one of the upper stage engines failed to produce enough thrust, at least according to a preliminary assessment.

I have no doubt that Blue Origin will resolve the problem.

They had a under performance with one of the engines on the second burn of the upper stage. It got to parking orbit but had issues on the full insertion maneuver.

 

[XP437]

It looks like the next scheduled launch for Blue Origin is in September; this "grounding" is pretty meaningless in the grand scheme of things; its not like they are launching rockets every other day or something.

Unlike SpaceX

 

[Endymio]

Now if they can only get starship and their lunar lander back on schedule. The race to the moon is between SpaceX, Blue Origin, and the Chinese ATM.

The choice of methane fuel was a genius stroke for LEO and Mars missions ... but it's a bit of a drawback for SpaceX on moon shots, unfortunately.