A giant cell tower is going to space this weekend
By Thomas Ricker
Published on April 17, 2026.
The upcoming launch of Jeff Bezos' New Glenn rocket, with the first-stage booster from the New Glenn program, could signal an end to SpaceX's monopoly on reusable orbital launch vehicles. The mission will carry AST SpaceMobile's BlueBird 7 satellite to low Earth orbit, which is designed to provide 4G and 5G broadband at speeds exceeding 120 Mbps. The launch is crucial as Amazon desperately needs a reusable rocket for its Leo launches, which has only launched 241 of its planned constellation so far. This test will be a crucial test for cost-effective booster reuse, which SpaceX's Falcon 9 has been able to deploy over 1,500 satellites to its Starlink constellation within a year.
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