'A wonderful show for any rocket enthusiast': Blue Origin shows SpaceX it can do reusable rockets too by landing 'Never Tell Me The Odds'
Date:
Sun, 19 Apr 2026 13:30:00 +0000
Description:
The third New Glenn launch has been a success, and it's going to mean wider access to mobile satellite communications.
FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Tech Radar Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Become a Member in Seconds Unlock instant access to exclusive member
features. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed Your newsletter sign-up was successful Join the club Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards. Explore An account already exists for this email address, please log in. Subscribe to our newsletter We've got another space first to report today: Blue Origin has successfully reused a rocket booster for the first time, managing to get the 'Never Tell
Me The Odds' rocket back to its landing pad in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the third New Glenn (NG-3) mission.
The rocket booster was first used with the NG-2 mission last November, and having recovered it that time, Blue Origin has now shown it can be deployed again. It means the company can now better compete with SpaceX when it comes to these reusable rockets. Liftoff happened at 7.25am ET (4.25am PT / 12.25pm BST / 9.25pm AEST), and the 'Never Tell Me The Odds' booster arrived back on its floating Jacklyn droneship around 10 minutes later, after finishing the job of pushing its payload into orbit. Article continues below You may like Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin want to help provide high-speed satellite internet across the globe Orbital is planning to launch AI data centers into space to solve power and cooling issues SpaceX has applied to launch another million satellites into orbit And that payload is also notable: it's the AST SpaceMobile BlueBird 7 satellite, which is effectively going to act as a
giant cell tower in space (it boasts a massive antenna measuring 2,400 square feet or 223 square meters). It gets us a big step closer to global satellite coverage for modern smartphones. A major satellite expansion Never Tell Me
The Odds has landed (Image credit: Blue Origin) As with reusable rockets, Amazon and Blue Origin are competing with SpaceX and Starlink when it comes
to satellite communications. SpaceX is hoping to begin the process of launching thousands of its Starlink V2 satellites sometime next year .
The idea is that our phones will be able to connect to them without any hardware or software upgrades these satellites will be smart enough and powerful enough to mimic a regular cell tower, with 4G and 5G speeds, from
all the way up in orbit.
It'll take years before the space satellite network is ready to go beyond emergency communications and pricing and carrier partnerships will need to
be worked out along the way but BlueBird 7 is a sign of the direction we're heading in. Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up
for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me
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Reaction to the launch on social media has been overwhelmingly positive and enthusiastic (perhaps buoyed by the recent Artemis II mission ), with livestream viewers describing the experience as "a wonderful show for any rocket enthusiast" and simply "amazing". You can read more about the New
Glenn missions on the Blue Origin website . Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!
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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/computing/a-wonderful-show-for-any-rocket-enthusiast -blue-origin-shows-spacex-it-can-do-reusable-rockets-too-by-landing-never-tell -me-the-odds
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