Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket and landed its booster stage, but it delivered a satellite into an orbit too low to be useful.

The launching appeared to go off without a hitch, but a problem prevented the rocket's upper stage from putting its payload into the correct orbit.

The New Glenn rocket will have to stay grounded while the company investigates what caused the apparent failure of its upper stage.

AST SpaceMobile will deliberately destroy its BlueBird 7 satellite after Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket deposited the spacecraft in an orbit too low to be useful, the company confirmed in an April 2026 statement.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it is ordering Blue Origin to probe the failure on Sunday ​of the second stage of its New Glenn 3 rocket.

The FAA has grounded Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket following an incident in which it failed to put a payload in orbit. There will be an investigation.