Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Destination: Alpha Centauri => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on November 10, 2025, 04:00:13 pm

Title: Blue Origin postpones New Glenn Mars mission for NASA. When it could launch now
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 10, 2025, 04:00:13 pm

USA TODAY
Blue Origin postpones New Glenn Mars mission for NASA. Here's when it could launch now
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY
Mon, November 10, 2025 at 9:21 AM EST
4 min read


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Darkness falls as a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepped for launch Saturday, Nov. 8 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The rocket was scheduled to launch Sunday, Nov. 9 on NASA's ESCAPADE mission before Blue Origin ultimately was forced to postpone liftoff due to weather.



Blue Origin's long-awaited mission to launch its massive New Glenn rocket on a mission sending twin NASA spacecraft on a journey to Mars will have to wait a little longer.

New Glenn, one of the largest active rockets in the world, was set to take off on a rainy day from Cape Canaveral, Florida, before clouds forced Blue Origin to postpone the Sunday, Nov. 9, launch attempt.

The mission, which Blue Origin refers to as NG-2, would only be the second time ever that billionaire Jeff Bezos' space technology company has launched the rocket. Designed to compete with billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon rockets in the orbital spaceflight market, New Glenn made its debut in January 2025.

Here's everything to know about upcoming Blue Origin New Glenn launch, as well as when the rocket could now lift off in Florida.


What is Blue Origin? Jeff Bezos' company postpones New Glenn launch

New Glenn was fueled up and vertical on the launch pad ahead of an impending launch before Blue Origin ultimately called it off about 90 minutes after the window opened.

The scrub came as Blue Origin's launch team monitored cloud cover rolling into the area, which ultimately foiled the liftoff attempt.


What is NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission?

During its second-ever mission, New Glenn is due to propel NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft on their trek to Mars, where they will orbit the red planet and take simultaneous observations of solar winds and space weather.

The ESCAPADE satellites – short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers – are due to arrive in Martian orbit in 2027.

The mission also doubles as a commercial venture. New Glenn will additionally carry technology from telecommunications company Viasat that could be used for NASA missions in low-Earth orbit.


When is the New Glenn launch?

Blue Origin is now working toward a launch of its New Glenn rocket on Wednesday, Nov. 12, according to its website.

The window would be open from 2:50 p.m. to 4:17 p.m. ET, with the rocket getting off the ground from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base. The site is one Blue Origin invested $1 billion to rebuild.

The hours are outside of the restrictions the Federal Aviation Administration recently enacted on commercial space launches amid the ongoing government shutdown. Under a Nov. 6 order, which went into effect Monday, Nov. 10, commercial launches were to be limited to between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time.

It's unclear why Blue Origin's NG-2 mission is exempt from the order, though the company indicated in a post on social media site X that it "worked with the FAA and range to select a launch window." The USA TODAY Network left a message Monday, Nov. 10, with a Blue Origin spokesman seeking more information.

The New Glenn rocket also needs to launch at a certain time of day to get it on a correct trajectory to Mars.

When the rocket does lift off, Blue Origin will once again attempt to land the first stage, or booster, on a drone ship several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic. The upper stage carrying the payload fairing will then continue in space, helping to propel NASA's ESCAPADE satellites on to Mars.


What is Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket?

Named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is a powerful two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle manufactured by Blue Origin.

The New Glenn spacecraft is not to be confused with Blue Origin's much smaller New Shepard rocket that the company launches from West Texas on brief trips taking paying passengers high above Earth's atmosphere.

The rocket, which stands at 322 feet tall, is built to be reusable, with the first stage designed to last for at least 25 flights, according to Blue Origin. The booster being used in the upcoming spaceflight is nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds.

Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn will be capable of shuttling Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites to orbit and undertaking other missions for paying customers – including NASA and telecommunications providers.

The rocket's first stage is powered by seven of Blue Origin's BE-4 engines, while the upper stage, which flies in orbit, operates with two of the company's BE-3U engines designed for the vacuum of space.


When was the 1st New Glenn rocket launch?

The spacecraft has only launched one time so far, with its maiden flight Jan. 16, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

While the upper stage reached orbit in the debut, the booster itself was lost during the descent.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blue Origin postpones NASA Mars mission. When New Glenn could launch (https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/11/10/blue-origin-nasa-mars-new-glenn-launch/87191860007/)