Blue Origin scrubs second New Glenn launch, will strive once more November 12

Jeff Bezos’ area firm Blue Origin scrubbed the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket deliberate for Sunday afternoon as a result of issues with climate, just a few minor issues with launch pad gear, and at the least one cruise ship that strayed too near the flight path.

The corporate stated late Sunday that it’ll take one other go at launching New Glenn’s second mission on Wednesday, November 12. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) introduced restrictions on area launches late final week because of the authorities shutdown, and Blue Origin stated in a submit on X Sunday that it labored with the FAA to make the second try occur. The launch windo opens at 2:50 p.m. ET and lasts till 4:17 p.m. ET.

This mission is a vital one for Blue Origin for quite a lot of causes.

For one, the corporate remains to be proving out the total reusability of the rocket. New Glenn efficiently reached orbit throughout its first launch in January, however the booster exploded earlier than it might land on a drone ship within the ocean. Blue Origin hopes to land the booster for the primary time throughout this second flight.

That is additionally the primary industrial mission for New Glenn. The rocket will carry NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft into area, the place it’s going to embark on a mission to Mars. New Glenn can be carrying a tech demonstrator for Viasat, which is a part of one other NASA venture. Proving New Glenn can safely ship payloads to area — and do it affordably thanks largely to the rockets reusability — is essential if Blue Origin desires to compete towards Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

Blue Origin initially deliberate to aim the second launch earlier this yr, however delayed it a number of occasions. Sunday’s launch window in Cape Canaveral, Florida initially opened at 2:45 p.m. ET, and the corporate had a window of roughly 90 minutes. The climate worries and the launch pad gear points brought on that launch time to slide just a few occasions.

With the clock working once more simply minutes earlier than a launch try, a cruise ship entered the flight path, in keeping with the printed. Whereas that ship was anticipated to clear earlier than the 4:15 p.m. ET shut of the launch window, the climate was nonetheless a priority, and brought on the corporate to wash the try.