First, Blue Origin uses a recycled rocket to send a satellite into space – then deploys a booster a second time.
Jeff Bezos’ space business Blue Origin used the rocket booster that once flew New Glenn to send a satellite into space today, marking a first for the company and taking its competition with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to new heights.
After the second launch, the first stage booster – nicknamed “Never Tell Me the Odds” – made another successful landing on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean.
The rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 7:25 a.m. ET (4:25 a.m. PT), sending AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 communications satellite into low Earth orbit.
The dual-use booster made its first flight last November when it launched NASA’s Escapade probe on a mission to Mars. Blue Origin’s Florida team discovered and developed the booster that will be launched today.
Blue Origin used a similar approach today. A webcast showed the booster reaching out to touch down the landing craft, which was named Jacklyn in honor of Bezos’ mother. Team members could be heard cheering at Mission Control in Florida, the company’s headquarters in Kent, Wash., and other outposts in Texas and Alabama.
“Welcome back to Never Tell Me Strange,” said presenting analyst Tabitha Lipkin. “Good to say that twice.”
This was the third launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn orbital-class rocket. The first liftoff in January 2025 sent a payload into orbit to test the communication and control systems of Blue Origin’s Blue Ring space travel platform. Blue Origin tried to recover the booster used in that mission, called “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance,” but the booster missed its chance and could not be saved.
After the success of today’s booster touchdown, the focus has shifted to the main mission of the mission: to use BlueBird 7 from the second stage of the rocket in Earth orbit. That should have happened an hour and 15 minutes after take off.
If all goes well, BlueBird 7 is set to join six other satellites in the AST SpaceMobile constellation in Texas. BlueBird satellites are designed to deliver mobile broadband connections directly from space to ordinary smartphones.
AST SpaceMobile aims to have up to 60 satellites in its constellation by the end of 2026. The company intends to begin offering commercial satellite service in partnership with AT&T and Verizon later this year.
Direct-to-device connectivity is being developed as a fast-moving frontier for satellite broadband services. SpaceX was the first to enter the fray: It reached a D2D agreement with T-Mobile in 2022 and is integrating the Starlink satellite network to meet the needs of mobile subscribers.
Last week, Amazon announced that it will acquire Globalstar, a satellite operator from Louisiana, and will work with Apple to develop D2D services. That deal is expected to power Amazon’s Leo satellite network, a Starlink competitor that is due to begin commercial service this year.
Rocket reusability is another technology area where SpaceX has long been a leader but is now facing increasing competition. The ability to recover and reuse rocket boosters plays a big role in SpaceX’s strategy to lower launch costs – and today’s launch showed that Blue Origin is able to increase the reusability of rockets.
