The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has grounded Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket after a critical malfunction during its second-stage flight left a satellite in the wrong orbit. The incident occurred during the rocket’s maiden launch on Sunday, January 12, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
In an official statement obtained by the Orlando Sentinel, the FAA confirmed the mishap:
"The FAA is aware that Blue Origin New Glenn 3 experienced a mishap during the second-stage flight sequence following a successful launch."
The rocket, owned by Jeff Bezos, successfully launched and its reusable booster returned to its landing pad without incident. However, the upper stage failed to deploy the AST SpaceMobile payload into the correct orbit, rendering the mission partially unsuccessful.
The grounding comes as a setback for Blue Origin, which had positioned New Glenn as a competitor to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 in the commercial spaceflight industry. The FAA’s decision halts further launches until the cause of the malfunction is fully investigated and resolved.
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