Blue Origin Delays New Glenn Again—and It's a Bigger Setback Than It Seems

Gizmodo

a day ago

After gaining momentum last year, Jeff Bezos' rocket venture has hit another snag. The second flight of Blue Origin's New Glenn slipped from early spring to late August, messing with the company's original plan to launch its giant rocket eight times in 2025. Beyond missing launch targets, New Glenn's recent delay also puts Project Kuiper—the internet satellites owned by Amazon—at risk of losing a critical operations license.
This week, Dave Limp, the chief executive of Blue Origin, announced that New Glenn's second mission is targeting no earlier than August 15 for launch. The heavy-lift rocket blasted off for the first time on January 16, and while New Glenn's second stage reached its target orbit, its booster exploded during descent (it was supposed to perform a controlled landing). New Glenn's debut was a long time in the making, not just to compete with industry rival SpaceX, but to eventually deliver Project Kuiper satellites to orbit. Bezos' other venture, Amazon, must launch 50% of its internet satellites by 2026, or the company will lose its license. With the recent delay to New Glenn's schedule, the company is pressed for time.
Amazon launched the first batch of its internet satellites to low Earth orbit in April, tucked inside the fairing of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The same rocket is scheduled to launch the second fleet for Project Kuiper on June 16, but the company needs a total of 83 launches to form its internet constellation of 3,200 satellites and not all of them will board Atlas V. Amazon is planning to use ULA's new Vulcan Centaur rocket, which suffered a malfunction during its second mission in October 2024, and Arianespace's Ariane 6, as well as Blue Origin's New Glenn.
A 2020 authorization order from the Federal Communications Commission stipulates that Amazon must launch and operate half of the satellites by 2026, with the entire constellation launched to low Earth orbit by 2029. If it fails to do so, the company will lose its current license.
The company has been eager to enter the broadband satellite market, which is currently dominated by SpaceX. Unlike Blue Origin, Elon Musk's rocket company uses its reliable Falcon 9 to send batches of its Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit, launching more than 7,000 thus far. For Blue Origin, on the other hand, it's slim pickings when it comes to launch vehicles capable of lifting Kuiper satellites to orbit. Amazon's internet satellites are larger than those being deployed by SpaceX. 'The fact of the matter is that heavy launch capacity is still pretty constrained, and I think it will be for the coming years,' Limp said during a 2022 interview with The Washington Post.
That's why New Glenn is crucial for Amazon to meet its goals. Following New Glenn's less-than-ideal debut, Blue Origin said it discovered seven corrective actions following an investigation mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Its upcoming launch in August may be the only time the rocket flies this year, Ars Technica reports. An anonymous source told Ars Technica that even a launch date in August is unrealistic, and that New Glenn will likely not be ready to lift off until September.
A delay for New Glenn's progress might also signal a delay for Amazon's Project Kuiper, which would set the internet constellation much further back than its competitor SpaceX if it's forced to apply for a new license. The two companies are falling short of their goals just as the U.S. administration is looking for an alternative to SpaceX—not just its rockets, but also its internet constellation. This could've been the perfect time for Bezos to outshine his longtime industry rival. Instead, it's another missed opportunity.