Blue Origin has postponed the second flight of its New Glenn rocket, originally set for Sunday, citing unfavorable weather and ground equipment issues. The launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, has been rescheduled for no earlier than November 12.
The 322-foot rocket was to deploy NASA’s ESCAPADE twin satellites, built by Rocket Lab, to study Mars’ magnetosphere upon arrival in September 2027, along with a Viasat communications demonstration.
The mission, called NG-2, marks Blue Origin’s first NASA payload and will include an attempt to recover the first-stage booster on an ocean barge for reusability.
“We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt based on forecasted weather,” Blue Origin said in a social media post.
Laura Maginnis, New Glenn’s vice president of mission management, noted that the company is coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and NASA to respect airspace restrictions, following the FAA’s recent rules limiting commercial rocket launches between 6AM and 10PM ET amid the government shutdown.
The New Glenn rocket, now preparing for its second flight, represents Blue Origin’s effort to challenge SpaceX’s Falcon rockets in the orbital launch market.