Five weeks after experiencing its first launch failure, Kent, Wash.-based Blue Origin is getting ready to put its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket back in service to launch 48 satellites into low Earth orbit for the growing Amazon Leo constellation.
The mission, designated as NG-4 for the rocket and LN-01 for the payload, will mark the first time Blue Origin’s rockets have launched satellites for Amazon — forging a new connection between the two best-known companies founded by Jeff Bezos. It will also set a new high for the number of Leo broadband satellites launched on a single mission.
“Couldn’t be prouder to support the Leo team on this mission,” Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a post to X. Before he joined Blue Origin in 2023, Limp was the Amazon executive in charge of the Amazon Leo program (when it was known as Project Kuiper).
This will be the fourth launch of a New Glenn rocket. The first-stage booster for NG-4 is nicknamed “No, It’s Necessary” — a line from the movie “Interstellar” that refers to the need for a bold space maneuver.
New Glenn had been grounded in the wake of last month’s unsuccessful launch of an AST SpaceMobile satellite from Florida. But last week, the Federal Aviation Administration said it accepted the findings of an investigation led by Blue Origin. The investigation said the mishap was caused by a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line, leading to a thrust anomaly during the second-stage engine burn.
Blue Origin identified nine corrective actions to prevent a recurrence of the mishap, and the FAA authorized the company to return to flight. An FAA advisory suggested the launch could take place as early as next week.
Amazon Leo currently has just over 300 satellites in orbit, and thousands more satellites are due to be launched in the next three years. Under the terms of its original license from the Federal Communications Commission, more than 1,600 satellites were supposed to be launched by June 30, but Amazon is seeking a two-year extension of that deadline.
So far, most of the satellites have been launched by United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rockets, but the pace of deployment is expected to double over the coming year as heavy-lift rockets including New Glenn, ULA’s Vulcan and Arianespace’s Ariane 6 swing into action. Amazon says it has 24 New Glenn rocket launches reserved for satellite deployment missions.
Amazon Leo aims to start phasing in commercial satellite broadband internet service as soon as this summer, starting in mid-northern and mid-southern latitudes. Coverage is expected to expand as more satellites are launched. Leo hasn’t yet announced pricing for its service.
SpaceX’s Starlink network currently dominates the satellite broadband market, with more than 10,000 satellites in low Earth orbit and more than 12 million subscribers. SpaceX also serves as a launch provider for Amazon Leo, illustrating how even rivals can become partners in the space industry.
In other developments:
- Amazon laid out further details in its plan to acquire Globalstar and its direct-to-device satellite constellation this week in a filing with the FCC. The plan, which requires FCC approval, calls for Apple to transfer its 20% stake in Globalstar to Amazon (via a newly created subsidiary called “Grapefruit”). Globalstar’s infrastructure and its licenses for satellite service would be transferred to Amazon, and Amazon would file its own license application to operate a global D2D satellite system purpose-built for mobile connectivity. The system would be complementary to the broadband service offered by Amazon Leo. When the $10.8 billion acquisition deal was announced last month, Amazon said the agreement was expected to close in 2027.
- The FAA said it will oversee an investigation of last week’s flight test of SpaceX’s Starship V3 rocket. During the test, the engines on the rocket’s Super Heavy first-stage booster failed to fire properly after stage separation for what was meant to be a controlled descent and splashdown. As a result, the booster tumbled through its atmospheric re-entry and broke apart, with debris falling into the Gulf of Mexico. Starship’s return to flight will be based on the FAA determining that any system, process or procedure related to the mishap will not affect public safety.
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