Following a successful first flight in January, Blue Origin is set to launch its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from Florida once again, this time with a payload to be launched to Mars. The second New Glenn mission, named “NG-2” by Blue Origin, was scheduled to launch on Sunday, Nov. 9, from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but was scrubbed due to weather. The 45th Weather Squadron had forecasted a 45% chance of violating weather conditions at the time of launch. Blue Origin has not yet released a new launch date or time.
Encapsulated atop New Glenn are the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, both of which were built by Rocket Lab and will be operated by NASA. New Glenn is expected to launch the two spacecraft on a trajectory to Mars, where they will enter Martian orbit and study the red planet’s magnetosphere and how solar wind interacts with the planet’s atmosphere.
New Glenn will also launch with a demonstration of Viasat’s InRange launch telemetry relay service. InRange is a part of NASA’s Communication Services Project and will remain integrated onto New Glenn throughout the entirety of the NG-2 mission.