Bezos rocket fell short after cryogenic leak cut engine thrust

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Blue Origin have revealed what went wrong on the third flight of New Glenn and it looks like a cryogenic leak is our culprit. According to Blue Origin: "Prior to our second GS2 burn, we experienced an off-nominal thermal condition, and, as a result, one of the BE-3U engines didn't achieve full thrust to reach our target orbit." The FAA's explanation was a little more detailed: "The final mishap report identified the direct cause of the mishap as a cryogenic leak that froze a hydraulic line and led to a thrust anomaly during the second stage engine burn." The April 19 launch of the NG-3 mission started well. The first stage firing went well, and the booster made a successful landing on Blue Origin's floating landing platform, Jacklyn. However, during the second burn of the second stage (dubbed GS2), things went awry. One of the two BE-3U engines failed to achieve full thrust, leaving the payload, AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite, in a lower-than-planned orbit. AST SpaceMobile later said the spacecraft would be deorbited. All told, nine corrective actions were identified to prevent a repeat of the problem, and Blue Origin says all have been implemented ahead of the next New Glenn launch. The FAA said it will verify those changes before the rocket flies again. It is, however, not immediately clear what payload the company will be launching. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp showed off a video of the next vehicle being lifted onto the Transporter Erector, but gave no further details. Like SpaceX, which will be launching the next batch of AST SpaceMobile BlueBird satellites, Blue Origin has several targets to hit. It is expected to launch an uncrewed lunar lander this year and deliver NASA's off-again-on-again VIPER mission to the lunar surface in late 2027. NASA boss Jared Isaacman said in recent weeks that SpaceX and Blue Origin had told the agency both would have vehicles "to meet our needs" for a late 2027 rendezvous, docking, and capability test tied to Artemis III. Approval from the FAA removes one distraction for the company. However, time is running out for Blue Origin to accomplish its goals before the end of next year. (R)