By Akash Sriram
April 16 (Reuters) - Blue Origin is set to launch its third New Glenn mission on Friday, carrying AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to low-Earth orbit in a flight that marks a pivotal step for the Jeff Bezos-led company's ambitions.
The mission is critical in proving New Glenn, a 29-story heavy-lift rocket, can compete with Elon Musk's SpaceX, by demonstrating reliable booster reuse, a capability that has underpinned Falcon 9's dominance.
"The successful flight of New Glenn-3 would
end SpaceX's nine-year monopoly on orbital launch vehicle reusability, marking a historic shift toward a competitive, multi-player market," said Micah Walter-Range, president of space consulting firm Caelus Partners.
The mission is scheduled for a launch window between 6:45 a.m. and 12:19 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Following a series of delays earlier this month, the mission comes amid a surge of activity in the space sector, including a successful NASA Artemis II lunar flyby.
The rocket's booster, "Never Tell Me the Odds," previously flew on the NG-2 mission in November and was recovered, setting up this week's milestone attempt. The name is a nod to Han Solo's line in 'Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.'
A successful landing would also signal Blue Origin is narrowing a gap with SpaceX, which has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO targeting a valuation of about $1.75 trillion.
Blue Origin said in November it would build a bigger, more powerful variant of its New Glenn rocket.
KEY PAYLOAD
New Glenn is designed for the higher end of the commercial launch market. Its seven-meter payload fairing allows it to carry bulkier payloads, including multiple satellites in a single mission.
On NG-3, the rocket will carry AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7, the second satellite in its next-generation Block 2 constellation.
The satellite 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 an effort to build a space-based cellular broadband network, similar to Amazon's Leo or SpaceX's Starlink.
AST SpaceMobile is targeting a constellation of 45 to 60 such satellites by the end of 2026.
(Reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
