Blue Origin Delays NASA Mars Launch Amid Weather and FAA Restrictions

Blue Origin has delayed launching its giant New Glenn rocket, which is currently planned to launch NASA's twin ESCAPADE Mars probes on Nov. 9. The scrub was caused by bad weather at the Florida launch pad, and a looming government shutdown had just elicited new government FAA regulations halting daytime commercial launches. The company is collaborating with NASA and the FAA to be granted an exemption and re-plan the mission, the company says.

Launch Delay and FAA Exemption

According to a statement from Blue Origin spokesperson Tabitha Lipkin, the launch was scrubbed after foul weather moved in. The next possible launch won't be earlier than Nov. 12, as the company has reserved a late-afternoon window based on weather and sea-state forecasts. Backup launch days on Nov. 10–11 were cut off by an FAA order halting all daytime commercial launches during the U.S. government shutdown. Blue Origin is asking the FAA for an exemption to fly on Nov. 12 despite the new restriction.

NASA's ESCAPADE Mars Mission

ESCAPADE (an acronym of Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) will examine the process through which the solar wind deprived Mars of most of its atmosphere. Rocket Lab manufactured these twin orbiters, the first NASA mission to Mars in half a decade, on a comparatively low-cost basis, about 80 million dollars. They are being piloted on the second flight (the first being a test) of New Glenn in January 2025. Blue Origin will attempt to land the first stage of the 321-foot rocket on a platform in the sea to reuse it.