Blue Origin postponed the second launch of itS New Glenn mega-rocket,initially scheduled for Sunday afternoon,November 10,due to unfavorable weather conditions,minor launch pad equipment issues,adn the presence of a cruise ship within the flight path. The company announced via X (formerly Twitter) it is targeting a new launch date of Wednesday, November 12, with a launch window opening at 2:50 p.m. ET and closing at 4:17 p.m. ET. Blue Origin collaborated with the Federal Aviation Governance (FAA) to secure this second launch attempt despite recent space launch restrictions related to the government shutdown.
this mission marks a critical step for Blue origin in demonstrating the full reusability of the New Glenn rocket. While the first launch in January successfully reached orbit, the booster was lost during landing. The company aims to achieve a successful booster landing during this flight.
New Glenn’s second mission is also its first commercial flight, carrying NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars and a technology demonstrator for Viasat, part of another NASA project. Successful and cost-effective payload delivery is essential for Blue Origin to compete with SpaceX in the launch services market.
The launch was originally planned for earlier in the year but faced multiple delays. Sunday’s attempt was initially scheduled to begin at 2:45 p.m. ET, with a 90-minute window. A cruise ship briefly entered the flight path shortly before the planned launch,adding to the existing concerns about weather.
