Second New Glenn Launch Scheduled for November 9
Blue Origin announced that the second launch of its New Glenn rocket, carrying two NASA Mars spacecraft, is set for November 9. The NG-2 mission will take off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, with liftoff expected around 2:45 p.m.
This flight marks New Glenn’s first mission since its inaugural launch in January. It will deliver NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission into space.
About the ESCAPADE Mission
ESCAPADE includes twin small satellites developed by Rocket Lab and operated by the University of California Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory. Their goal is to study interactions between the solar wind and Mars’ magnetic field and upper atmosphere.
These investigations aim to uncover how Mars lost most of its early atmosphere and support preparations for future human missions to the planet.
“We will be making the space weather measurements we need to understand the system well enough to forecast solar storms whose radiation could harm astronauts on the surface of Mars or in orbit,” said Rob Lillis, ESCAPADE’s principal investigator at SSL.
Mission Delay Details
Originally, ESCAPADE was planned to launch on the first New Glenn mission last October. However, vehicle development delays prompted NASA to remove the mission from that launch.