By Akash Sriram April 16 (Reuters) – Blue Origin is set to launch its third New Glenn mission on Friday, carrying AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird 7 satellite to low-Earth orbit in a flight that marks a pivotal step for the Jeff Bezos-led company’s ambitions. The mission is critical in proving New Glenn, a 29-story heavy-lift rocket, can compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX, by demonstrating reliable booster reuse, a capability that has underpinned Falcon 9’s dominance. “The successful flight of New Glenn-3 would end SpaceX’s nine-year monopoly on orbital launch vehicle reusability, marking a historic shift toward a competitive, multi-player market,” said Micah Walter-Range, president of space consulting firm Caelus Partners. The mission is scheduled for a launch window between 6:45 a.m. and 12:19 p.m. ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Following a series of delays earlier this month, the mission comes amid a surge of activity in the space sector, including a successful NASA Artemis II lunar flyby. The rocket’s booster, “Never Tell Me the Odds,” previously flew on the NG-2 mission in November and was recovered, setting up this week’s milestone attempt. The name is a nod to Han Solo’s line in ‘Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.’ A successful landing would also signal Blue Origin is narrowing a gap with SpaceX, which has confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO targeting a valu …
