Blue Origin postpones NASA Mars mission. When New Glenn may launch

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New Glenn, one of many largest lively rockets on this planet, was set to take off on a wet day from Cape Canaveral, Florida, earlier than clouds pressured Blue Origin to postpone the mission.

Blue Origin’s long-awaited mission to launch its large New Glenn rocket on a mission sending twin NASA spacecraft on a journey to Mars must wait slightly longer.

New Glenn, one of many largest lively rockets on this planet, was set to take off on a wet day from Cape Canaveral, Florida, earlier than clouds forced Blue Origin to postpone the Sunday, Nov. 9, launch try.

The mission, which Blue Origin refers to as NG-2, would solely be the second time ever that billionaire Jeff Bezos’ area know-how firm has launched the rocket. Designed to compete with billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon rockets within the orbital spaceflight market, New Glenn made its debut in January 2025.

Here’s every part to find out about upcoming Blue Origin New Glenn launch, in addition to when the rocket may now carry off in Florida.

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New Glenn was fueled up and vertical on the launch pad forward of an impending launch earlier than Blue Origin in the end referred to as it off about 90 minutes after the window opened.

The scrub got here as Blue Origin’s launch staff monitored cloud cowl rolling into the realm, which in the end foiled the liftoff try.

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, the place they are going to orbit the red planet and take simultaneous observations of photo voltaic winds and area climate.

The ESCAPADE satellites – brief for Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers – are because of arrive in Martian orbit in 2027.

The mission additionally doubles as a business enterprise. New Glenn will moreover carry know-how from telecommunications firm Viasat that may very well be used for NASA missions in low-Earth orbit.

When is the New Glenn launch?

Blue Origin is now working towards a launch of its New Glenn rocket on Wednesday, Nov. 12, in keeping with its web site.

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

The hours are outdoors of the restrictions the Federal Aviation Administration recently enacted on business area launches amid the continued authorities shutdown. Under a Nov. 6 order, which went into impact Monday, Nov. 10, business launches have been to be restricted to between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. native time.

It’s unclear why Blue Origin’s NG-2 mission is exempt from the order, although the corporate indicated in a post on social media web 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 in search of extra info.

The New Glenn rocket additionally must launch at a sure time of day to get it on an accurate trajectory to Mars.

When the rocket does carry off, Blue Origin will as soon as once more try and land the primary stage, or booster, on a drone ship a number of hundred miles offshore within the Atlantic. The higher stage carrying the payload fairing will then proceed in area, serving to 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 primary American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is a strong two-stage heavy-lift launch car manufactured by Blue Origin.

The New Glenn spacecraft is to not be confused with Blue Origin’s a lot smaller New Shepard rocket that the corporate launches from West Texas on transient journeys taking paying passengers excessive above Earth’s ambiance.

The rocket, which stands at 322 feet tall, is constructed to be reusable, with the primary stage designed to final for at the least 25 flights, in keeping with Blue Origin. The booster getting used within the upcoming spaceflight is nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds.

Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn can be able to shuttling Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites to orbit and endeavor different missions for paying prospects – together with NASA and telecommunications suppliers.

The rocket’s first stage is powered by seven of Blue Origin’s BE-4 engines, whereas the higher stage, which flies in orbit, operates with two of the corporate’s BE-3U engines designed for the vacuum of area.

When was the first New Glenn rocket launch?

The spacecraft has solely launched one time to this point, with its maiden flight Jan. 16, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

While the higher stage reached orbit within the debut, the booster itself was misplaced through the descent.

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