Weather Scrubs Blue Origin's New Glenn Launch of NASA's Twin ESCAPADE Mars Probes — Next Attempt Nov. 12

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Blue Origin scrubbed the planned Nov. 9 launch of its giant New Glenn rocket, which was to carry NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars orbiters, after adverse weather and a cumulus-cloud constraint prevented liftoff. The company now plans the next earliest launch attempt for Wednesday, Nov. 12, pending forecast and range approvals.

Launch scrubbed by weather

The mission had an 88-minute launch window from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. During fueling and final preparations, officials encountered rain, thunderstorms and a violation of the "cumulus cloud rule," a safety weather constraint that halted the countdown. "Today's NG-2 launch is scrubbed due to weather, specifically the cumulus cloud rule," Blue Origin spokesperson Tabitha Lipkin said on the live webcast. "We're reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt based on forecasted weather."

"We came down to the wire and then...there you have it," Lipkin added.

Coordination amid FAA restrictions

The scrub forced Blue Origin to coordinate closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Eastern Range. The company had previously planned backup windows on Nov. 10 and 11, but the FAA announced an indefinite suspension of daytime commercial launches beginning Nov. 10 to reduce burdens on air-traffic controllers during the government shutdown. Blue Origin worked with the FAA and range officials to select a Nov. 12 window from 2:50–4:17 PM EST (19:50–21:17 UTC). A livestream will begin roughly 20 minutes before liftoff and will be available on Space.com, courtesy of Blue Origin.

About ESCAPADE and the New Glenn mission

ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) is NASA's first mission to Mars in five years. Built by Rocket Lab for under $80 million and led by scientists at UC Berkeley, the twin orbiters will study how the solar wind and space weather have stripped much of Mars' atmosphere over time. The New Glenn second stage also carries a telemetry and communications experiment for Viasat as part of NASA's Communications Services Project.

This flight, designated NG-2, will be New Glenn's second mission; the rocket's maiden flight occurred in January. Blue Origin hopes to recover the 321-foot (98-meter) first stage by landing it on an Atlantic Ocean barge for reuse. A first-stage recovery attempt on the initial test flight failed, although that mission otherwise proceeded smoothly.

Why this matters

ESCAPADE is a relatively low-cost, focused science mission that aims to clarify how Mars lost much of its atmosphere — a key question for understanding the planet's climate history and habitability. New Glenn is a flagship vehicle for Blue Origin's ambitions in commercial heavy-lift launches and future crewed and uncrewed lunar missions using the company's Blue Moon landers.

Update: This story was updated to reflect Blue Origin's rescheduled window of Nov. 12 as the next earliest launch opportunity.