This Sunday, Blue Origin will attempt a milestone with the first orbital launch of its New Glenn rocket. The mission is crucial for the industry, as a success would end SpaceX's exclusive dominance in reusable heavy-lift launchers. Furthermore, it would accelerate the race to offer direct satellite connectivity to conventional mobile phones, a market in full boil.
BlueBird 7: A 2400-foot cell tower in orbit 🛰️
The primary payload is the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 satellite. Its design is based on a large deployable antenna, which functions as a cellular base station in space. This technology allows it to offer 4G and 5G coverage directly to standard devices, without the need for special terminals. The system competes with similar proposals from Starlink and Amazon's future Kuiper project.
Amazon seeks its space taxi to not miss the train 🚀
For Amazon, this launch is more than just watching. They desperately need New Glenn to work to deploy their own Kuiper satellites. Watching SpaceX launch thousands while they wait for a viable rocket must generate some urgency. Now their global connectivity plan depends on the success of their rival, Jeff Bezos, in the launch business. The competition is a curious circle.