Blue Origin set for 2nd New Glenn launch today on Space Coast

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Nov 9, 2025

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Blue Origin is set to launch its New Glenn rocket with a pair of Mars-bound satellites from the Space Coast on Sunday afternoon.

The heavy-lift rocket is aiming for its second ever liftoff, targeting launch during a window that runs from 2:45-4:13 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36. Propellant load began after 10 a.m. Sunday.

“We just completed our launch readiness review this morning. We are go for launch across the board,” said Laura Maginnis, Blue Origin New Glenn vice president of mission management, on a Saturday media call.

The payload is a pair of satellites built by fellow aerospace company Rocket Lab for NASA and the University of California Berkeley’s Space Science Laboratory for the mission named ESCAPADE, which stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers. The twin spacecraft are dubbed Blue and Gold, and were originally aiming to launch in late 2024.

Because of the delay to this year, the relative proximity of Mars and Earth meant a change to the travel plans. Instead of heading directly to Mars, the two satellites will be headed to Lagrange Point 2, about 1 million miles away from Earth, where they will be able to sit until next year without much fuel use, before finally making the 11-month transit to the Red Planet.

Once they get there, they will orbit Mars and observe plasma and magnetic fields around the planet to help understand what processes strip atoms from Mars’ magnetosphere and upper atmosphere. That could help explain why Mars’ atmosphere is so thin, and how it may have evolved over time.

For New Glenn, it’s the first use of LC-36 since January. The mission’s first-stage booster, named “Never Tell Me The Odds,” a reference to Han Solo’s dialogue in “The Empire Strikes Back” before he attempts to successfully navigate an asteroid field.

The booster is aiming to land on the company’s ship Jacklyn, named after company founder Jeff Bezos’ mother, downrange in the Atlantic, a feat the first launch of New Glenn was not able to accomplish.

“Our number one objective is to deliver ESCAPADE safely and successfully on its way to (Lagrange Point 2) and then eventually on to Mars,” Maginnis said. “We also are planning — wanting to land our booster. If we don’t land the booster, that’s OK. We have several more vehicles in production. We’re excited to see how the mission plays out tomorrow.”

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts a 65% chance for good launch conditions at the opening of the window, which diminish to 55% by the end of the window. If delayed to Monday, SLD 45 forecasts a 75% chance for good conditions.

Blue Origin’s New Glenn rockets are manufactured at nearby Merritt Island, then rolled over to LC-36, which underwent a multiyear $1 billion dollar revamp. It held up well after the first launch, Maginnis said.

“The pad actually looked really good. We didn’t see any significant issues. We’ve got a great water suppression system out there, acoustic suppression system, and overall facility looks good,” she said. “Everything was pretty smooth, so it wasn’t a significant amount of work to do there.”

She said the company plans to increase its launch rate in 2026, but didn’t say when the next launch would be.

“Looking forward to demonstrating that a key element of that, of course, it’ll be the turnaround of our GS-1 (the first stage) booster, as well as a number of other boosters that we’re bringing online,” she said. “So those will be supporting higher cadence in 2026 and beyond.”

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