Blue Origin successfully launches NASA spacecraft on journey to Mars after delays

Blue Origin’s New Glenn NG-2 mission successfully launched a second mission from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, carrying NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars.

The massive 98-meter (321-foot) New Glenn burst into the sky and is expected to arrive at the Red Planet in 2027.

The launch was previously delayed due to extreme solar activity and bad weather.

This launch is intended to support ESCAPADE’s scientific goals as the twin spacecraft progress on their journey to the Red Planet.

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Also on board is a demonstration of Viasat technology in support of NASA’s Communications Services Project.

Thousands of Blue Origin employees could be heard cheering and singing as the booster separated and landed on its offshore ocean platform.

Founded in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin has a contract with NASA for the third lunar landing of astronauts under the Artemis program.

United Launch Alliance is also said to be targeting a night launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Its Atlas V rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:04 pm EST, carrying a ViaSat broadband satellite.

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Blue Origin’s New Glenn NG-2 mission launched NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, and is expected to arrive in 2027.

ULA’s mission was also delayed twice due to a problem with the vent valve on its booster’s liquid oxygen tank.

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If both launches are successful, they will mark the ninety-fifth and ninety-sixth launches of the year on Florida’s Space Coast, bringing the region closer to a record 100 launches in 2025.

The milestone follows SpaceX’s Starlink mission earlier this month, which set a new annual record.