Orbital Launch of BlueBird 7 on the New Glenn Launch Vehicle fails to reach correct orbit

AST SpaceMobile, Inc.  addresses today’s orbital launch of BlueBird 7 on the New Glenn launch vehicle.

During the New Glenn 3 mission, BlueBird 7 was placed into a lower than planned orbit by the upper stage of the launch vehicle. While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and powered on, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and will de-orbited. The cost of the satellite is expected to be recovered under the company’s insurance policy.

BlueBird 7 would have been AST SpaceMobile’s eighth deployed into low Earth orbit and is one of many planned for its space-based cellular broadband network. The company is currently in production through BlueBird 32, with BlueBird 8 to 10 expected to be ready to ship in approximately 30 days.

The company continues to expect an orbital launch every one to two months on average during 2026, supported by agreements with multiple launch providers, and it continues to target approximately 45 satellites in orbit by the end of 2026.