CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., April 20, 2026, 04:47 EDT
- Blue Origin brought back a reused New Glenn booster, though AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite ended up stranded in an orbit too low for operations.
- AST expects insurance will cover the satellite’s cost, while production continues on subsequent BlueBird satellites.
- The setback comes just as SpaceX, Amazon, satellite manufacturers, and optical-link companies ramp up efforts around direct-to-phone and high-speed orbital networks.
Blue Origin successfully brought a reused New Glenn booster back to Earth on Sunday, taking a step toward showing Jeff Bezos’ heavy-lifter can handle repeat launches. But the flight didn’t go as planned for AST SpaceMobile: its BlueBird 7 communications satellite ended up stranded in a low orbit, now headed for de-orbiting. The rocket launched from Cape Canaveral just after 7:25 a.m. ET, with the booster landing roughly 10 minutes later, according to Reuters.
The split decision is relevant now as the satellite market pushes past launch demos toward real networks. AST is working on direct-to-device connections—satellites talking straight to regular phones, no special gear needed. SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Leo network are also vying for the same big pool of users, but each comes at it differently. Low Earth orbit—just a few hundred miles up, prized for its faster satellite broadband—has become a busier, tougher neighborhood.
AST SpaceMobile reported that BlueBird 7 has separated from its launch vehicle and powered up, but said the satellite’s altitude was “too low to sustain operations” using its onboard thrusters. The company expects to recover the satellite’s cost through insurance, and added that BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 are on track to ship in roughly 30 days. Business Wire
For Blue Origin, this recovery remains a critical data point. The third New Glenn flight re-used the first-stage booster “Never Tell Me The Odds”—that same hardware landed successfully on the rocket’s second outing last November, Blue Origin said in its pre-launch note. The trouble this time seems to have centered on the upper stage, not the booster, affecting the customer payload. Blue Origin
“We foundationally developed New Glenn for what we think space is going to look like 50 to 100 years from now,” New Glenn Vice President Jordan Charles said to Reuters ahead of the result. A broad strategy, sure, but for now the focus is simpler: deliver payloads to the correct orbit—then do it again. Reuters
AST changed hands at $85.53 as of 4:30 a.m. EDT, a drop of $5.41 from its previous close, ahead of the U.S. session. This move isn’t just about a single satellite. The company has told investors it’s still on track for launches every one to two months in 2026, aiming to have about 45 satellites up by the end of the year.
Last week, the race tightened: Amazon struck a $11.57 billion deal to acquire Globalstar, snapping up satellite assets and direct-to-device spectrum as it chases Starlink. “This helps Amazon catch up on direct-to-device spectrum,” Armand Musey, president and founder of Summit Ridge Group, told Reuters. SpaceX’s muscle—its massive scale and launch capacity—will keep driving more deals, Canaccord Genuity’s Austin Moeller predicted. Reuters
SpaceX shifts focus to national-security payloads as it gears up to send the final GPS III satellite, SV10, into orbit. The Falcon 9 is set for liftoff early Tuesday at Cape Canaveral. This marks the 10th GPS III spacecraft for the U.S., bringing added jamming resistance and finer positioning accuracy to the constellation.
The U.S. Space Force has reassigned the GPS III-8 launch, handing it over to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 instead of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan as the Vulcan anomaly probe drags on. Col. Ryan Hiserote, head of Space Systems Command’s System Delta 80, framed the move as evidence of “rapid delivery of advanced GPS capability” and a nod to launch flexibility. Spaceforce
Outside the launch sector, satellite tech headlines this week centered on higher-speed data transfers in space. MBRYONICS landed a role on a Kepler Communications-led team for the European Space Agency’s €18.6 million HydRON Element 3 project. The goal: swap out radio with optical, or laser, communications to push more data between satellites and down to Earth. ESA’s Laurent Jaffart described HydRON as a “multi-orbital optical communications network.” MBRYONICS CEO John Mackey summed it up: making all these space networks interoperate. Business Wire
Even as demand holds up, smaller space companies are still pulling in funding. Sidus Space has lined up $58.5 million through a registered direct offering—shares sold straight to investors—with plans to put the cash toward working capital and general needs. The company, which operates out of Cape Canaveral, pitches itself as a specialist in satellite manufacturing, tech integration, and AI-powered space data services.
The real chokepoint could end up being launch cadence rather than demand. Should Blue Origin require extra time reviewing its upper stage, or if AST’s upcoming missions are pushed back, insurers, mobile-network partners, and investors might start to question the commercial timing for direct-to-phone satellite networks. SpaceX maintains an edge in launch regularity. Amazon brings serious financial muscle. AST touts its phone-first setup, but Sunday’s events highlighted just how critical an uneventful trip to orbit remains.
