AST SpaceMobile announced on April 20, 2026, that its BlueBird 7 satellite failed to achieve its target operational orbit following a launch by Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. The mission, designated New Glenn 3, lifted off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at 7:25 a.m. ET on April 19. While the first-stage booster successfully completed its second flight and landed on the recovery vessel Jacklyn, an anomaly in the rocket’s upper stage left the satellite in a non-nominal, highly elliptical orbit.
According to technical data released by the company and tracked by the U.S. Space Force, BlueBird 7 was placed in an orbit with a perigee of 154 kilometers and an apogee of 494 kilometers. The intended target was a circular orbit at an altitude of approximately 460 kilometers. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp stated that preliminary data indicates one of the two BE-3U engines on the second stage failed to produce sufficient thrust during its second burn. Consequently, AST SpaceMobile confirmed the satellite lacks the onboard propulsion capability to reach a sustainable altitude and will be de-orbited in a controlled manner to prevent unpredictable atmospheric re-entry.
BlueBird 7 is a Block 2 series satellite, featuring a 2,400-square-foot phased array antenna, which is the largest commercial communications array ever deployed in low-Earth orbit. It was designed to provide direct-to-device 4G and 5G broadband services with peak data transmission speeds of up to 120 Mbps. This satellite was the eighth in AST SpaceMobile’s planned constellation, following the successful deployment of BlueBird 6 via an Indian LVM3 rocket in December 2025. The company currently utilizes a proprietary AST5000 application-specific integrated circuit to support 10 GHz of processing bandwidth per satellite.
The Federal Aviation Administration has initiated a mishap investigation into the New Glenn upper-stage failure, a move that typically grounds the launch vehicle until corrective actions are implemented. AST SpaceMobile stated it expects to recover the satellite's estimated 30 million dollar cost through its existing insurance policy. Despite the loss, the company maintained its target of deploying approximately 45 satellites by the end of 2026. Production continues at its Midland, Texas, facility, with BlueBird satellites 8 through 10 expected to be ready for shipment within approximately 30 days.
On April 20, AST SpaceMobile shares closed at 81.00 dollars, representing a 5.3 percent decline for the session. Trading volume reached 39.2 million shares, significantly exceeding the three-month average of 14.7 million shares. The stock had experienced sharper declines of up to 15 percent in pre-market and early morning trading before paring some losses. The company continues to coordinate with its multiple launch providers to maintain its 2026 deployment schedule.