New Glenn Rocket Fails to Deliver Satellite to Orbit

New Glenn Rocket Suffers Setback on Third Flight

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket experienced a significant issue during its third mission, failing to place a commercial satellite into its intended orbit. This marks the first major setback for the heavy-lift rocket, which had previously achieved successful launches with NASA payloads. The mission, carrying a satellite for communications company A Space Mobile, aimed for low Earth orbit, a target that proved more challenging than anticipated.

A Space Mobile’s Ambitious Satellite Mission

The payload for this flight was A Space Mobile’s ‘Bluebird’ satellite, weighing approximately five tons. This satellite is designed to unfold into the largest unclassified phased array antenna in orbit, a crucial component for their goal of providing cell phone service directly from space.

The intended destination was a 49-degree inclination orbit at an altitude of about 480 kilometers. This mission was not only a key step for A Space Mobile but also a significant milestone for Blue Origin, marking their first attempt to launch a payload into low Earth orbit.

New Glenn’s Prior Successes and Booster Recovery

Before this flight, New Glenn had successfully completed two missions, demonstrating its capability to send payloads to medium Earth orbit and on hyperbolic trajectories. The first stage booster from the second flight, nicknamed ‘Never Tell Me the Odds,’ was successfully recovered, refurbished, and reused. This refurbishment included replacing all seven of its BE-4 engines, a standard procedure early in a rocket’s test program to allow for more engine testing and verification.

The successful recovery and reuse of the booster is a major achievement, mirroring the progress SpaceX made with its Falcon 9 rocket. Designing for recovery and reuse from the outset allows companies to quickly realize the benefits of lower launch costs. Blue Origin has also focused on producing numerous second stages, anticipating higher usage rates compared to the first stages.

Mission Deviations and Booster Recovery Focus

Even on this third flight, Blue Origin appeared to prioritize booster recovery and risk reduction. The rocket employed a flatter trajectory after stage separation, causing the booster to descend at a gentler angle.

This maneuver likely improved targeting for landing on the recovery barge, ‘Jaclyn,’ and reduced stress on the booster itself. Such decisions are understandable as Blue Origin works to master its landing capabilities for future full-payload missions.

The launch trajectory also showed signs of careful planning. To achieve the desired 49-degree orbit, a typical launch would head north along the coast.

However, this flight took a southerly path, avoiding potential weather issues in the North Atlantic and the airspace of the Bahamas. This ‘dog leg’ maneuver required the second stage to make a significant turn south, which would normally result in a parking orbit with a 36-degree inclination.

Booster Landing and Second Stage Performance

Footage from a NASA WB-57 aircraft captured the booster’s descent, showing shockwaves refracting the background clouds as it traveled at supersonic speeds. The booster eventually slowed to a hover before landing precisely on the recovery barge. While live coverage experienced some communication issues, footage later shared by Jeff Bezos highlighted the successful landing and demonstrated Blue Origin’s growing expertise in booster recovery.

Meanwhile, the second stage continued its journey, accelerating towards orbit. Although its thrust-to-weight ratio is not exceptionally high, the stage possesses considerable power.

Initial telemetry showed the vehicle gaining speed at an altitude of several hundred miles, with a slight descent that is normal for optimizing trajectory. The mission aimed for a speed of around 17,500 miles per hour, necessary for achieving orbit.

Engine Issues Lead to Orbital Insertion Problems

The mission’s critical phase involved the second stage relighting its engine to circularize the orbit and change its inclination to the target 49 degrees. However, the expected announcement of a successful engine burn did not occur.

Blue Origin later confirmed an ‘off-nominal orbit’ and the deployment of the payload. Initial reports from Space Force indicated the satellite was in a parking orbit, but its final destination remained unclear.

Further updates revealed that the satellite had managed to raise its orbit partially and make some inclination change, requiring about 1 kilometer per second of delta-v. This suggested the second stage’s engines had ignited but encountered a problem, delivering only about half the expected performance. The satellite was eventually declared lost and is expected to be de-orbited.

Engine Malfunction Identified

A statement from David Limp confirmed that during the orbit-raising burn, one of the two BE-3U engines on the second stage did not perform as expected, leading to the underperformance. This engine issue is now the focus of the investigation into the mission’s failure. The exact orbit achieved by the satellite was 265×485 km at a 43-degree inclination, significantly short of the planned 490 km circular orbit at 49 degrees.

The original insertion orbit had a perigee of 144 km and an apogee of 494 km. The goal was to raise this to a circular orbit of roughly 490 km.

While circularizing the orbit would have required a small velocity change, changing the plane of the orbit to reach the correct inclination demanded thousands of meters per second of delta-v. Most of this change involved firing the engine at a 90-degree angle to the direction of travel.

Questions About the Second Stage’s Fate

A major concern following the mission is the status of the New Glenn second stage itself. Currently, Space Force has only issued orbital elements for one object, the A Space Mobile satellite.

If the second stage remains in orbit, it represents a significant piece of space debris, comparable in size to the core stage of China’s Long March 5B, which has had multiple uncontrolled re-entries. Blue Origin needs to confirm if the stage has been safely de-orbited and if its propellant has been safely vented.

The decision-making process during the engine malfunction is also under scrutiny. With two engines on the second stage, questions arise why the system did not switch to single-engine mode to complete the mission.

The underperforming engine may have simply dumped propellant, or a more catastrophic failure could have disabled both engines. If the latter occurred, detaching the payload and leaving the spacecraft in orbit would be logical.

Future Implications and FAA Classification

The FAA has classified the incident as a mishap, meaning Blue Origin cannot fly New Glenn again until the issue is resolved. While this is a setback for A Space Mobile, they are insured and can pursue other launch options.

For Blue Origin, identifying and fixing the engine problem is paramount. This failure could delay their launch schedule, potentially impacting NASA’s Artemis program, which relies on New Glenn for future in-orbit refueling missions.

Blue Origin is expected to work diligently to resolve this issue, with hopes of resuming flights later this year. The company’s ability to learn from this failure and implement corrective actions will be crucial for its long-term success in the competitive space launch market.

Source: New Glenn's First Failure – What Do We Know? (YouTube)