Jeff Bezos Blue Origin blasts satellite into wrong place | Latest Tech News
Jeff Bezos’ space tech company Blue Origin positioned a buyer’s satellite in the wrong orbit on Sunday, sending that firm’s stock tumbling Monday.
Shares of Nasdaq-listed AST SpaceCell fell almost 12% in premarket trading and had been down roughly 8% from Friday’s close as of mid-day Monday.
Blue Origin launched the “BlueBird 7” satellite from its Cape Canaveral, Fla., space website aboard its New Glenn rocket — but the satellite wasn’t hurled high enough, according to AST SpaceCell.
Blue Origin launched AST’s satellite from its Cape Canaveral, Fla., space website aboard its New Glenn rocket. AP
“BlueBird 7 was placed into a lower than planned orbit by the upper stage of the launch vehicle,” the company said in a assertion. “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.”
De-orbiting is a time period of artwork referring to taking a satellite out of orbit and letting it burn up in the environment or fall to the ground, according to NASA.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp said in a Monday post on X that his company “clearly didn’t deliver the mission our customer wanted” and one of the rockets’ engines “didn’t produce sufficient thrust to reach our target orbit. Blue Origin is leading the anomaly investigation with [Federal Aviation Administration] oversight to learn from the data and implement the improvements needed to quickly return to flight operations.”
Blue Origin said on X: “The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit. We are currently assessing and will update when we have more detailed information.” The company hasn’t launched additional info.
AST SpaceCell didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The satellite would have provided space-based mobile broadband for smartphones, designed for both business and authorities purposes.
The mishap marked an obvious blow to Bezos’ ambitions to catch up to Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket business. Blue Origin has been working to ramp up flights with its New Glenn rocket and work through a backlog of flights.
This screen grab taken from a Blue Origin broadcast exhibits Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket attaining stage separation after lifting off from Launch Complex 36 at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, on April 19, 2026. BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty Images
The booster of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket touchdown on a floating platform in the Atlantic Ocean on April 19. BLUE ORIGIN/AFP via Getty Images
Texas-based AST had invited shareholders to watch the ill-fated launch live.
“The event had a festive atmosphere, but the mood changed when word circulated that AST’s satellite was placed in the improper orbit, which threatened to jeopardize the mission. It was later determined that the satellite was lost,” William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma said in a research observe Monday.
AST’s ambitions of sending 45 satellites into orbit this 12 months can be arduous to obtain now, he added.
“Even though shares will likely be under pressure today, the beat goes on,” DiPalma said, including that AST gained priceless expertise in working with Blue Origin.
The satellite would have been AST’s eighth launched into low-earth orbit, the company said. It still expects to launch a satellite every month or two this 12 months.
While Clear Street analyst Greg Pendy said in a observe revealed Monday that he maintains a buy ranking on the stock, he cut his year-end price goal to $115, from $137. That’s still a 34% gain from Friday’s close, but a lot less than his beforehand forecast 60% leap in shares.
The value of the doomed satellite is predicted to be recovered under the company’s insurance coverage coverage.
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