Blue Origin Achieves First Landing Of Reused Rocket Booster As New Glenn Touches Down

Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos, said Sunday that its New Glenn rocket successfully landed its booster after launch, marking the first touchdown of a reused booster for the vehicle.

The New Glenn rocket lifted off at about 7:25 am Eastern time from Cape Canaveral, Florida, within a launch window that opened at 6:45 am. The booster returned to Earth roughly 10 minutes later.

The mission carried a BlueBird 7 satellite for AST SpaceMobile into low-Earth orbit, representing a key milestone for both companies.

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The flight was a crucial test of New Glenn’s ability to reuse its booster — a capability seen as essential for competing with SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket.

The booster, named “Never Tell Me the Odds,” previously flew on a mission in November and was successfully recovered, setting up Sunday’s reuse attempt. The name references a line from the film Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.

New Glenn, a heavy-lift rocket standing about 29 stories tall, is designed to carry large payloads, including multiple satellites in a single mission.

The BlueBird 7 satellite is part of AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation Block 2 constellation and features what the company describes as the largest commercial communications array deployed in low-Earth orbit. Designed to connect directly with smartphones, the satellite is part of efforts to build a space-based cellular broadband network similar to systems being developed by Amazon and SpaceX.

AST SpaceMobile is targeting a constellation of 45 to 60 such satellites by the end of 2026.