FAA Clears Blue Origin's New Glenn to Fly Again After April 19 Failure

3 articles · Updated · SpaceNews · May 23

Blue Origin can resume New Glenn launches after the FAA closed its investigation into the rocket’s April 19 NG-3 mission failure and approved the company’s mishap report.
The FAA said a cryogenic leak froze a hydraulic line, causing a second-stage thrust anomaly during the BE-3U engine burn that left AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite in an unrecoverably low orbit.
Nine corrective actions were identified, though neither the FAA nor Blue Origin disclosed them; the agency said it will verify those fixes before the next New Glenn launch.
Blue Origin is already preparing NG-4, with CEO Dave Limp posting video of a new vehicle on a transporter-erector and saying the next step is an integrated hotfire.
AST has shifted near-term plans to SpaceX, shipping three BlueBird satellites to Florida for a Falcon 9 launch in June, while still expecting a later New Glenn mission to carry four satellites.

Can Blue Origin's methodical pace catch SpaceX after New Glenn's first major failure?

With its key satellite lost, how will AST SpaceMobile build its global internet constellation on schedule?

Does this setback for a key commercial partner also jeopardize NASA's planned return to the moon?