Blue Origin hopes third time's the charm for New Glenn after two scrubbed launches
(2025/11/13)
- Reference: 1763044993
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/11/13/third_time_lucky_for_blue/
- Source link:
A blast from the Sun kept Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on the pad as the Northern Lights forced NASA to halt the launch.
It has not been a good week for Jeff Bezos' rocket. A planned launch on November 9 was scrubbed due to weather, and the Blue Origin team had hoped to get the New Glenn off the pad on November 12, but it was not to be. While skywatchers were admiring an aurora, NASA scientists were fretting about the effects of the solar storm.
In an [1]announcement , Blue Origin said: "New Glenn is ready to launch. However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve. We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch window based on forecasted space weather and range availability."
[2]
The company will [3]attempt to launch again today, November 13, with a launch window extending between 1957 to 2125 UTC from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
[4]
[5]
The European Space Agency (ESA) [6]noted an intense solar flare on November 11, which peaked at approximately 1004 UTC. A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was observed less than an hour later, with an estimated speed of 1,500 km/s. It was due to reach Earth in the evening of November 12 or the early morning of November 13. Therefore, NASA's decision to postpone the launch appears prudent.
When it finally happens, the mission will be the second launch for the New Glenn. The primary payload is NASA's [7]ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission, which will send two spacecraft on a lengthy trip to Mars. The ESCAPADE mission was to launch on the maiden flight of the New Glenn, but NASA elected to postpone. The original trajectory for ESCAPADE required a launch within a specific window, which seemed somewhat impractical for the first flight of a rocket.
[8]Ex-NASA chief: China likely to land humans on Moon before Uncle Sam does again
[9]Untangling the Jeff Bezos web: Who pays for the billionaire's space lust?
[10]SpaceX scores $5.9B lion's share of Space Force launch contracts
[11]Blue Origin spins up lunar gravity for New Shepard flight
The planetary alignment in 2024 would have provided an efficient transfer window to Mars. Launching later means the spacecraft must spend additional time in orbit before Mars becomes accessible.
Also on board is a technology demonstration from Viasat in support of NASA's Communications Services Project.
[12]
Blue Origin hopes to recover the first stage booster this time, having failed to do so on its first launch. The company will attempt to land the booster, [13]named "Never Tell Me The Odds," on its landing platform, Jacklyn, which will be located in the Atlantic Ocean.
Company boss Dave Limp [14]said failing again would not be the end of the world. "NG-1's [the first launch] goal was clear: reach orbit, everything after that was a bonus.
"NG-2 builds on that with our primary goal to get Escapade safely to orbit and land the booster. What if we don't stick the landing? That's OK. We've got several more New Glenn boosters already in production." ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1988621902881914961
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aRYOp2YIAFxNL3WXkgeEiQAAAYU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1988795793000501452
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[6] https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/ESA_actively_monitoring_severe_space_weather_event
[7] https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/jim_bridenstine_nasa_moon/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/04/jeff_bezos_space_web_untangled/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/07/spacex_space_force_contracts/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/new_shepard_lunar_gravity/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aRYOp2YIAFxNL3WXkgeEiQAAAYU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://x.com/davill/status/1976075227827405186
[14] https://x.com/davill/status/1986203689036484839
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
It has not been a good week for Jeff Bezos' rocket. A planned launch on November 9 was scrubbed due to weather, and the Blue Origin team had hoped to get the New Glenn off the pad on November 12, but it was not to be. While skywatchers were admiring an aurora, NASA scientists were fretting about the effects of the solar storm.
In an [1]announcement , Blue Origin said: "New Glenn is ready to launch. However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve. We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch window based on forecasted space weather and range availability."
[2]
The company will [3]attempt to launch again today, November 13, with a launch window extending between 1957 to 2125 UTC from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
[4]
[5]
The European Space Agency (ESA) [6]noted an intense solar flare on November 11, which peaked at approximately 1004 UTC. A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) was observed less than an hour later, with an estimated speed of 1,500 km/s. It was due to reach Earth in the evening of November 12 or the early morning of November 13. Therefore, NASA's decision to postpone the launch appears prudent.
When it finally happens, the mission will be the second launch for the New Glenn. The primary payload is NASA's [7]ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission, which will send two spacecraft on a lengthy trip to Mars. The ESCAPADE mission was to launch on the maiden flight of the New Glenn, but NASA elected to postpone. The original trajectory for ESCAPADE required a launch within a specific window, which seemed somewhat impractical for the first flight of a rocket.
[8]Ex-NASA chief: China likely to land humans on Moon before Uncle Sam does again
[9]Untangling the Jeff Bezos web: Who pays for the billionaire's space lust?
[10]SpaceX scores $5.9B lion's share of Space Force launch contracts
[11]Blue Origin spins up lunar gravity for New Shepard flight
The planetary alignment in 2024 would have provided an efficient transfer window to Mars. Launching later means the spacecraft must spend additional time in orbit before Mars becomes accessible.
Also on board is a technology demonstration from Viasat in support of NASA's Communications Services Project.
[12]
Blue Origin hopes to recover the first stage booster this time, having failed to do so on its first launch. The company will attempt to land the booster, [13]named "Never Tell Me The Odds," on its landing platform, Jacklyn, which will be located in the Atlantic Ocean.
Company boss Dave Limp [14]said failing again would not be the end of the world. "NG-1's [the first launch] goal was clear: reach orbit, everything after that was a bonus.
"NG-2 builds on that with our primary goal to get Escapade safely to orbit and land the booster. What if we don't stick the landing? That's OK. We've got several more New Glenn boosters already in production." ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1988621902881914961
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aRYOp2YIAFxNL3WXkgeEiQAAAYU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://x.com/blueorigin/status/1988795793000501452
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aRYOp2YIAFxNL3WXkgeEiQAAAYU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_weather/ESA_actively_monitoring_severe_space_weather_event
[7] https://science.nasa.gov/mission/escapade/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/04/jim_bridenstine_nasa_moon/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/04/jeff_bezos_space_web_untangled/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2025/04/07/spacex_space_force_contracts/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/05/new_shepard_lunar_gravity/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aRYOp2YIAFxNL3WXkgeEiQAAAYU&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://x.com/davill/status/1976075227827405186
[14] https://x.com/davill/status/1986203689036484839
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Really hoping for a soft landing
The current schedule* has Blue Moon (small cargo version) pathfinder mission 1 launching in January. That can only happen if they get the booster back in good condition.
* There are lies, damned lies and rocket launch schedules.