Tag: EscaPADE
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After record-breaking 2025, Rocket Lab prepares for Neutron’s debut in 2026
Rocket Lab had its most successful year to date in 2025, with its Electron rocket completing 21 successful flights and the company racking up several new industry contracts. One such contract is with the Space Development Agency, valued at up to $816 million, for Rocket Lab to develop 18 missile-warning satellites — the company’s largest…
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Blue Origin unveils new spacecraft and New Glenn upgrades
Fresh off its highly successful NG-2 flight, which launched the ESCAPADE Mars probes and featured a successful booster landing, Blue Origin unveiled the Blue Moon Mk1 robotic lander due to fly in 2026, possibly on New Glenn’s next flight. In addition, the company announced its future New Glenn 9×4 rocket while giving the current New…
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How space weather events impact launches, orbiting spacecraft, and our future in space
When Blue Origin scrubbed the launch of its NG-2 mission on its New Glenn rocket on Nov. 12, the culprit wasn’t Florida’s notoriously unpredictable thunderstorms or high winds — it was space weather. NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, the primary payload on NG-2, was eventually launched on Nov. 13 and is designed to study how solar storms…
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Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launches twin probes on trip to Mars — and scores a booster touchdown
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket rises from its Florida launch pad. (Blue Origin Photo via Dave Limp / X) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture sent twin orbiters on the first leg of their journey to Mars today, marking a successful sequel to January’s first liftoff of the company’s heavy-lift New Glenn launch vehicle. The…
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Blue Origin launches twin Mars probes for NASA as New Glenn makes first landing
New Glenn lifts off from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral, carrying twin Mars probes for NASA. Image: Michael Cain/Spaceflight Now. Blue Origin launched its second heavy-lift New Glenn rocket Thursday, putting two small NASA satellites onto a long, looping course to Mars to learn more about how the sun has slowly blown away the…
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Blue Origin’s New Glenn Completes Second Flight, Deploys NASA Mars-Bound Satellites
Blue Origin’s New Glenn booster completed its second-ever trip to space on Thursday, successfully launching two NASA satellites on a mission to study the Martian atmosphere. The unmanned rocket lifted off shortly after 4 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Launch Complex 36, carrying the twin ESCAPADE probes. After stage separation, the reusable…
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Blue Origin launches ESCAPADE on New Glenn, successfully lands first stage booster
Following a successful first flight in January, Blue Origin successfully launched its heavy-lift New Glenn rocket from Florida once again, this time with a payload bound for Mars. The second New Glenn mission, named “NG-2” by Blue Origin, lifted off on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 3:55 PM EST (20:55 UTC) from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36)…
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Launch preview: Blue Origin to launch NASA’s ESCAPADE following scrubs from clouds, space weather
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket that will launch NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers) mission along with a technology demonstration from Viasat. Image: Blue Origin Blue Origin is stepping back up to the plate and will take another crack at launching its 98-meter-tall (321 ft) rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on…
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NASA scrubs ESCAPADE launch due to ‘highly elevated solar activity’
Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket designed for the NG-2 mission is pictured at sunset at Launch Complex 36, the evening of Nov. 8, 2025. The rocket will carry NASA’s ESCAPADE mission along with a payload demonstration for Viasat. Image: Adam Bernstein / Spaceflight Now Update Nov. 12, 10:40 a.m. EST (1540 UTC): NASA scrubbed the…
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Launch Roundup: New Glenn, Viasat, & Sentinel-6B highlight busy week of launches
This week’s launch schedule featured two high-profile launches that were pushed back after scrubs from last week, as well as the Sentinel-6B mission and two Starlink missions for SpaceX. A suborbital Electron HASTE mission from Wallops is also scheduled. New Glenn’s second launch, featuring the Mars-bound ESCAPADE payload, was scheduled to launch no earlier than…