The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) planned to launch the first launch of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket as part of the ESCAPADE Mars mission in the middle of next month. Now it has become known that the department has revised its plans, and the launch of this mission will take place only next year.
Image source: Blue Origin
The report said that the decision to postpone the launch of New Glenn was made based on an analysis of the flight preparation process and consultations with Blue Origin, as well as other departments, including the Federal Aviation Administration. “This decision was made to avoid the potential costs, schedule slips and technical issues associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a variety of factors,” NASA said in a statement.
Let us remind you that during the first launch of the New Glenn rocket, two Martian probes should go into outer space. Currently, NASA and Blue Origin are holding discussions to develop a further plan and determine possible dates for a future launch. According to the source, the earliest possible option is in the spring of 2025. This decision looks quite strange, since the most optimal conditions for launching Mars missions occur once every 26 months, and in October of this year there will be such a period for several days.
Despite the postponement of the ESCAPDE mission, Blue Origin does not want to miss another opportunity to launch New Glenn. “We plan to postpone the second launch of New Glenn, originally scheduled for December, to November. New Glen will be launched as part of the Blue Ring program and will mark our first certified spaceflight. We will provide more details about these plans in the coming weeks,” Blue Origin owner Jeff Bezos wrote on his social media account X.
As part of the Blue Ring program, the company intends to form a multi-purpose space platform for hosting, launching and refueling spacecraft. The platform will be located in outer space and will be able to provide other commercial services. To achieve this, Blue Origin is developing reusable launch vehicles, orbital stations and lunar landing modules.