By Al Root
Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos is optimistic about a return to flight in 2026 for Blue Origin after a surprise explosion damaged launch infrastructure in late May.
That's good news. Blue Origin represents an important source of space launch capacity for AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, as well as business for Blue Origin suppliers such as Karman.
"One week later, incredible progress. It's a 24/7 operation with a solid path forward to launch this year," Bezos said in a post on X on Thursday. That echoed optimism from CEO David Limp earlier in the week.
His comments follow an explosion that destroyed a New Glenn rocket on a launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Fla., in late May. New Glenn is Blue Origin's reusable rocket that can take 45 metric tons of payload into low Earth orbit. A SpaceX Falcon 9 can carry about 23 metric tons. A Falcon Heavy can carry about 64 metric tons.
AST SpaceMobile stock dropped 15% the day after the incident. Amazon shares fell about 1%. Both companies are using Blue Origin to put communications satellites in space. In the case of AST, the launch hiccup delays the realization of its billion-dollar sales backlog. That business is coming from wireless network operators, including Verizon Communications and AT&T.
The explosion was a "pretty big setback, an under-appreciated setback," says Westwood chief investment officer Adrian Helfort. "Those are [large] rockets....SpaceX is great, but you can't have just one supplier."
That's why getting back to launch is important. Bezos' optimism is positive for space stocks, wrote William Blair analyst Louie DiPalma on Friday. Blue Origin is AST's main launch partner. "Meanwhile, Karman provides....New Glenn launch system with an array of proprietary products."
Karman stock fell 13% after the explosion to $57.50. Shares have remained near those levels since then. AST shares, at about $107, are still down about $26.
Still, AST stock remains up 68% over the past month, heading into Friday trading. Space stocks have been on fire lately, ahead of SpaceX's record-setting IPO, which is expected to price this coming week, valuing Elon Musk's rocket company at about $1.8 trillion.
SpaceX has shown investors what's possible in space. Its Starlink broadband product has amassed more than 10 million customers and generated billions of dollars in annual earnings.
AST stock was down 1.6% in premarket trading, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.5% and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.2.%.
Other space stocks moving include Rocket Lab and Firefly Aerospace. Those two stocks are down about 1% and 2%, respectively, in premarket trading. Coming into Friday, Rocket Lab stock was up 52% over the past month. Firefly shares were up 31%.
Write to Al Root at allen.root@dowjones.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 05, 2026 10:08 ET (14:08 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.