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.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) April 19, 2026
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.
