Blue Origin Progressing Towards Second New Glenn Rocket Launch for Mars Mission

Blue Origin is making steady progress toward the second launch of its New Glenn rocket, which could occur sometime this fall.

The company already ignited the second stage of this rocket, in a pre-launch test, in April. And two sources say the first stage for this launch is in the final stages of preparation at the company's facilities in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Publicly, the company has said this second launch will take place no earlier than August 15. This is now off the table. One source told Ars that a mid- to late-September launch date was 'realistic,' but another person said late October or November was more likely.

Blue Origin has been mum about the payload that will fly on this rocket, but multiple people have told Ars that the current plan is to launch NASA's ESCAPADE mission on the second launch of New Glenn. This mission encompasses a pair of small spacecraft that will be sent to Mars to study the red planet's magnetosphere.

This Mars mission was originally supposed to be on New Glenn's first flight in October 2024 but was taken off that flight due to uncertainty in the debut launch date. The issue was that once the two spacecraft were fueled with hypergolic propellant, they needed to be launched within a certain time period.

Had ESCAPADE launched last October, the spacecraft would now be nearing Mars and beginning scientific operations. However, because they missed the Mars 'window' last year, they will have to wait for the next one to open late this year. Thus, the nominal plan involves a launch this fall, with the spacecraft now not reaching Mars until later in 2027.

After ESCAPADE, Blue Origin has several missions tentatively plotted out. However, sources cautioned that the manifest could be moved around due to the readiness of subsequent New Glenn vehicles and their payloads.

Based upon information received by Ars, the launch manifest could look something like this: