CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA — The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a mishap investigation and grounded Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket after it failed to place an AST SpaceMobile satellite into the intended orbit during a launch Sunday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The flight was the third for New Glenn and the first to use a previously flown first stage.

Liftoff occurred at 7:25 a.m. ET following a 40-minute hold in the countdown. The rocket's seven methane-burning BE-4 engines ignited and produced 3.8 million pounds of thrust. The first stage shut down and separated from the rocket about three minutes and nine seconds after liftoff, and landed on a Blue Origin landing barge in the Atlantic Ocean about nine minutes and 20 seconds after launch. Spectators watched the launch from a beach in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The rocket's payload, a direct-to-cellphone communications satellite, ended up in the wrong orbit. "We have confirmed payload separation. AST SpaceMobile has confirmed the satellite has powered on. The payload was placed into an off-nominal orbit," Blue Origin posted on X. Because the rocket did not reach the required orbital altitude, the satellite will be unusable. AST SpaceMobile said the loss will be covered by insurance, and its share price fell by more than 6% on Monday.

The payload was the BlueBird 7 satellite, built by AST SpaceMobile in Midland, Texas, and equipped with a 2,400-square-foot phased array antenna. It was the second in a new generation of data relay stations designed to provide space-based 4G and 5G cellular broadband service directly to cellphone users. It is not yet known whether the spacecraft will be able to function properly, and options to achieve the planned orbit have not yet been determined.

Blue Origin Chief Executive Dave Limp said the failure was caused by a lack of "sufficient thrust" in an engine. He said the investigation will allow the company to "learn from the data and implement the improvements needed to quickly return to flight operations."

"The FAA is requiring Blue Origin to conduct a mishap investigation. The FAA will oversee the Blue Origin-led investigation, be involved in every step of the process and approve Blue Origin's final report, including any corrective actions," a spokesperson said. The FAA will determine based on the investigation findings when New Glenn can be launched again. Blue Origin had been planning a dozen launches this year.