Mission failure for SpaceX and Starlink rivals
AST SpaceMobile shares plunged in early trading on Monday after Blue Origin’s flagship New Glenn rocket failed to correctly place a payload it was carrying for the Texas-based satellite networking company into its intended orbit.
Shares of AST, which is building out a network to deliver connectivity from orbit directly to mobile phones, in direct competion with Starlink, fell 14% before markets opened in New York.
If the loss holds, it would mark the biggest intraday drop in more than two months.
New Glenn was carrying a BlueBird satellite built by AST, which is seeking to have about 45 satellites in orbit by the end of the year.
The company has signed contracts with Jeff Bezos-founded Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX to launch dozens of satellites into orbit.
Sunday’s launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida marked the first time Blue Origin’s much-delayed New Glenn rocket reused a booster, and the first stage was recovered after the flight.
When AST’s satellite separated from New Glenn’s second stage, it entered an “off-nominal orbit,” or the wrong orbit, Blue Origin said in a post on X.
The incorrect placement was “too low to sustain operations” and the satellite will have to be de-orbited — made to burn up in the atmosphere, AST SpaceMobile said in a statement Sunday.
“The silver lining is that there was only one satellite on board, whereas future New Glenn launches may have as many as eight of AST’s BlueBirds,” William Blair analyst Bryce Sandberg said in a note, adding that it will be difficult for the company to reach its goal of 45 satellites in orbit this year.
The satellite launch attempt was the first of the year for AST, which started 2026 with seven satellites in orbit. Insurance will cover the cost of the lost payload, AST said.
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