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 \u201cNG-2\u201d by Blue Origin, lifted off on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 3:55 PM EST (20:55 UTC) from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.<\/p>\n
The launch was initially scheduled for Nov. 9, but was subsequently scrubbed due to weather issues. The launch was again pushed from Wednesday, Nov. 12, due to solar weather concerns after two coronal mass ejections impacted Earth\u2019s magnetosphere.<\/p>\n
Encapsulated atop New Glenn were the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, both of which were built by Rocket Lab and will be operated by NASA. New Glenn launched the two spacecraft on a trajectory to Mars, where they will enter Martian orbit and study the red planet\u2019s magnetosphere and how solar wind interacts with the planet\u2019s atmosphere.<\/p>\n
New Glenn also launched with a demonstration of Viasat\u2019s InRange launch telemetry relay service. InRange is a part of NASA\u2019s Communication Services Project and will remain integrated onto New Glenn throughout the entirety of the NG-2 mission.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n