Today’s launch of AST Spacemobile’s Bluebird 7 satellite aboard Blue Origin’s reusable New Glenn rocket was partially successful. New Glenn touched down on its landing pad without incident, making it the second launch and landing for a first stage booster, and officially giving Jeff Bezos a reusable launch vehicle. Unfortunately for the AST spacemobile, the mission was less successful. Its cell-tower-in-space was delivered to a lower orbit than the launch vehicle’s second stage, rendering it functionally useless.
While the satellite separated from the launch vehicle and became operational, the altitude is too low to sustain operations with its on-board thruster technology and it would de-orbit.
For his part, Bezos posted a video of the X landing without comment.
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