WATCH: Blue Origin Successfully Launches Reused New Glenn Rocket

It's a great day for sustainability practices (but a not-so-great day for satellite orbits). The Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin launched the New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Sunday morning. This marks the massive rocket's third launch; however, there's also a first at play. The rocket was sent into orbit with "previously used hardware." In a mission called NG-3, New Glenn carried BlueBird 7, a direct-to-cellphone internet satellite, to low orbit.

New Glenn also used the same booster from the previous mission, NG-2. This reusability milestone allows the company to compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX. New Glenn is 322 feet, making it 100 feet taller than SpaceX's Falcon 9. This is about the same size as NASA's Space Launch System that sent Artemis II around the Moon.

While the reused first-stage booster landed in the sea as planned, BlueBird 7 wasn't as lucky. It was scheduled for deployment one hour and 15 minutes after liftoff, but after two hours, Blue Origin noted that something had gone awry. Here's what they reported on social media:

"We have confirmed payload separation. AST SpaceMobile has confirmed the satellite has powered on. The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit. We are currently assessing and will update when we have more detailed information."

Later, AST SpaceMobile shared a statement:

"While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will [be] de-orbited. The cost of the satellite is expected to be recovered under the company's insurance policy."

Blue Origin officials remarked during Sunday morning's launch that its Mark 1 Blue Moon lander will launch to the Moon by summer's end without a crew. Despite completing environmental testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, deploying BlueBird 7 to the wrong orbit could delay the lander's launch.

Check out the New Glenn rocket launch before you go:

https://www.youtube.com/live/enQ_IXtfm9I?si=IeccSOJ6900Rpk4O

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Apr 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published April 19, 2026 at 5:24 PM.