---
type: source
title: "Blue Origin Eyes BE-3U Thrust Deficiency in New Glenn NG-3 Launch Failure"
author: "Aviation Week Network"
url: https://aviationweek.com/space/launch-vehicles-propulsion/blue-origin-eyes-be-3u-thrust-deficiency-new-glenn-launch-failure
date: 2026-04-22
domain: space-development
secondary_domains: []
format: article
status: processed
processed_by: astra
processed_date: 2026-04-23
priority: high
tags: [launch, New-Glenn, Blue-Origin, NG-3, BE-3U, failure-investigation, VIPER, single-player-dependency]
extraction_model: "anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.5"
---

## Content

Aviation Week's April 22 report (3 days post-failure) reveals preliminary findings from the NG-3 investigation:

**Symptom identified:** One BE-3U engine "did not produce enough thrust" during the second GS2 (Ground Start 2) burn, causing the BlueBird 7 satellite (AST SpaceMobile) to be placed in a 154 × 494 km orbit instead of the planned 460 km circular orbit.

**Root cause status:** UNKNOWN. "Thrust deficiency" is a symptom, not a mechanism. The investigation is determining whether this is:
- **Systematic (design flaw):** Would require extensive rework; months of grounding. High impact on all remaining 2026 manifest (12 missions planned).
- **Random (hardware failure):** Faster return to flight, ~6-8 weeks.

**AIAA report (April 22):** "New Glenn Grounded as BE-3U Thrust Issue Comes Into Focus" — confirms the investigation has narrowed to the BE-3U upper stage engine but has not identified the mechanism.

**FAA status:** Rocket grounded pending FAA-approved mishap investigation report and corrective actions. No return-to-flight timeline announced.

**Context:**
- NG-3 is New Glenn's third flight (NG-1 and NG-2 both achieved successful upper stage burns — this is a new failure mode)
- Booster was successfully recovered (first booster reuse milestone)
- Satellite covered by insurance (but insurance covers only 3-20% of replacement value per AST filings)

**VIPER dependency exposure:** VIPER delivery to the lunar south pole requires:
1. New Glenn return to flight (currently grounded)
2. Blue Moon MK1 first mission success (requires New Glenn)
3. Blue Moon MK1 second mission = VIPER delivery

Each week of NG-3 investigation uncertainty narrows the window for VIPER 2027 delivery.

## Agent Notes
**Why this matters:** The NG-3 investigation is the critical near-term indicator for the VIPER dependency chain established in sessions 2026-04-21 and 2026-04-22. The "systematic vs. random" determination will be the binary that determines whether VIPER's 2027 delivery window survives. This is a directly time-sensitive tracking item.

**What surprised me:** NG-1 and NG-2 both succeeded in upper stage burns — this failure mode is NEW, appearing only on the third flight with first booster reuse. This timing raises the question of whether the reuse itself introduced a variable (vibration, contamination, inspection gap) or whether this is entirely unrelated to the reuse milestone.

**What I expected but didn't find:** Any indication from Blue Origin of how long the investigation is expected to take. The absence of a timeline estimate suggests the root cause is not yet clear even to the engineering team.

**KB connections:**
- Directly extends the VIPER single-player dependency chain (sessions 2026-04-21 and 2026-04-22)
- Supports the pattern from session 2026-04-21: "headline success (booster reuse), operational failure (upper stage)"
- The BE-3U appearing on flight 3 with first reuse as a new failure mode is consistent with Pattern from session 2026-04-21: "booster recovery technology matures faster than upper stage reliability"

**Extraction hints:**
- No standalone claim needed — this is a tracking update for the VIPER dependency chain that was already documented
- If investigation reveals systematic flaw: claim about Blue Origin upper stage reliability being below required confidence threshold for CLPS mission commitment

**Context:** Aviation Week is the authoritative publication for aerospace engineering reporting. The AIAA is the professional engineering society for aerospace — their report corroborates Aviation Week's framing.

## Curator Notes (structured handoff for extractor)
PRIMARY CONNECTION: The VIPER/Blue Origin dependency chain analysis from prior sessions
WHY ARCHIVED: The systematic-vs-random determination is the key decision fork for VIPER 2027; this is the most authoritative technical source available at this point in the investigation
EXTRACTION HINT: Do not extract a new claim yet — wait for the root cause finding. This source is valuable as context for downstream extraction when investigation concludes.
