Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, called off the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket that was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The decision was made due to weather conditions, minor issues with launch pad equipment, and a cruise ship that got too close to the flight path.
The company announced later on Sunday that it would attempt to launch New Glenn’s second mission again on Wednesday, November 12. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed space launch restrictions last week due to the government shutdown, but Blue Origin noted in a post on X that they collaborated with the FAA to proceed with the second attempt. The launch window opens at 2:50 p.m. ET and runs until 4:17 p.m. ET.
This mission is significant for Blue Origin for several reasons.
Firstly, the company is working to demonstrate the full reusability of the rocket. New Glenn successfully reached orbit during its first launch in January, but the booster exploded before it could make a landing on a drone ship in the ocean. Blue Origin is aiming to successfully land the booster during this second flight.
Additionally, this marks the first commercial mission for New Glenn. The rocket will transport NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft into space to begin its journey to Mars. New Glenn is also carrying a tech demonstrator for Viasat, which is part of another NASA initiative. Proving that New Glenn can safely and cost-effectively deliver payloads to space, largely due to the rocket’s reusability, is essential for Blue Origin to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Blue Origin had initially planned to launch earlier this year but faced several delays. The launch window in Cape Canaveral, Florida, initially opened at 2:45 p.m. ET, giving the company about 90 minutes to lift off. However, weather concerns and launch pad equipment issues caused multiple postponements.
Just minutes before the latest launch attempt, a cruise ship entered the flight path, according to the broadcast. While it was expected to clear the area before the 4:15 p.m. ET end of the launch window, ongoing weather uncertainties ultimately led to the decision to scrub the attempt.
