New Glenn NG-2 ESCAPADE lifting off on November 13. 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin is picking up the pace in Cape Canaveral. The company announced today that the next flight of New Glenn (NG-3) is scheduled for NET late February. NG-2, New Glenn’s second flight, launched on November 13, 2025 on a wholly successful mission to launch two NASA satellites to Mars. NG-3 will come within 4 months of that.
Blue is planning to use the same New Glenn booster as it did with NG-2 — “Never Tell Me The Odds.” That booster landed on Blue Origin’s recovery ship “Jacklyn” after its debut flight, and Blue Origin engineers must feel confident enough in the refurbishment and flight preparation for NTMTO that the company can schedule a target date for its next flight. This flight will mark the first re-use of a New Glenn booster.
After NG-2, Blue Origin’s recovery ship ‘Jacklyn’ with the mission’s booster arrive back in Port Canaveral in November 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
Payload Announcement for NG-3
Blue Origin also announced that NG-3 will carry AST SpaceMobile’s next-generation Block 2 BlueBird satellite to low Earth orbit.
AST SpaceMobile selected Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket in November 2024 to launch satellites for its Bluebird cellular broadband network. The constellation will serve both commercial and government telecommunications markets, providing seamless connectivity as mobile devices transition between ground-based cellular towers and space-based coverage—delivering broadband access anywhere on Earth.
“We’re proud to have AST SpaceMobile as our customer on NG-3,” said Dave Limp, CEO, Blue Origin in a press release announcing the flight timeline. “Our customers need a reliable, cost-effective launch vehicle, and New Glenn is purpose-built to serve their needs.”
Starlink 10-17 lifts off from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on October 17, 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
2025 was an incredibly busy year in spaceflight, both here at the Cape and also globally. By Christmas, providers broke previous orbital launch records, with over 300 successful flights globally, largely driven by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 for Starlink satellite deployments.
SpaceX further extended its dominance in 2025 with over 130 orbital launches across the year, the vast majority using its Falcon 9 rocket. The company continued flying at a pace unmatched by any other launch provider, supporting satellite deployments, ISS crew and cargo missions, and national security payloads in addition to continuing building out its wildly popular Starlink offering.
SpaceX launching IMAP on September 24, 2025. At this point in the flight, the rocket was passing through the speed of sound. Photo: Charles Boyer
Starlink
On October 25, 2025, SpaceX launched its 10,000th Starlink satellite. Space.com quoted noted satellite tracker Dr. Jonathan McDowell of the Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, saying that there are currently 9,357 Starlink satellites in orbit, with 9,347 in operational positions. The constellation serves over 9 million customers across 100 countries and territories. It is estimated that the company adds around 20,000 new customers daily.
Reusable boosters remain central to that success. Several Falcon 9 first stages flew 20 or more times, reinforcing the idea that rapid reuse is no longer experimental but routine. One of its boosters, B1067, has now flown 32 times and is currently at SpaceX’s facilities at the Kennedy Space Center, being refurbished for another flight. The company has publicly stated that it seeks to certify Falcon 9 boosters for up to 40 flights, and in 2025, several of the company’s boosters have fewer than ten missions remaining to meet that goal.
Starship test flights also continued launching from Texas, focusing on vehicle upgrades, heat-shield performance, and recovery techniques aimed at future missions beyond Earth orbit. The company is also continuing to build out its Boca Chica infrastructure, with a new launch pad nearing completion at the end of this year. Flights from the new facility should take place in the first part of 2026.
Starship Heavy lifts off from Boca Chica, Texas to start the IFT-6 mission. Photo: Richard Gallagher, FMN
SpaceX also received approval to begin converting Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at Cape Canaveral for Starship operations. The site, previously used by United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV, gives SpaceX a second major East Coast launch location and points to long-term plans for higher-energy missions beyond Falcon 9.
SpaceX has stated that its goal is to launch from the Cape in 2026.
SpaceX has also begun construction of a new “Gigabay” facility for Starship at its Roberts Road site at Kennedy Space Center. That facility is large — not quite the size of the venerable VAB, but large nonetheless — and should be completed in 2026.
Blue Origin: New Glenn Finally Flies
After years of development, Blue Origin reached orbit for the first time with the debut launch of its New Glenn rocket in 2025. Flying from LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the successful flight validated the vehicle’s core systems and marked the company’s entry into the heavy-lift orbital launch market.
Blue Origin NG-1 launch. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
NG-1, Blue’s mission designation for the debut flight, also had a tertiary goal of landing the New Glenn first stage, but that effort was unsuccessful. The payload reached its target orbit, however, making the flight a rousing success for a company long discounted by many in the space community.
Momentum continued on New Glenn’s second launch, when Blue Origin successfully landed its reusable first-stage booster on its recovery ship ‘Jacklyn’. The recovery showed that the company’s emphasis on reusability was now operational and not theoretical, and it positioned New Glenn as a serious competitor in the heavy-lift category.
Notably, Blue’s second New Glenn flight was much smoother than the debut. This was an expected improvement, but it clearly showed that Blue had taken the lessons learned from NG-1 to heart, made operational improvements, and applied them to the NG-2 flight.
Blue Origin New Glenn NG-2 launches on November 13. 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer
2025 also saw Blue Origin significantly advancing its Blue Origin Blue Moon lunar lander program, as it continued preparing its Blue Moon Mark 1 (MK1) lunar lander for its first demo mission to deliver payloads to the lunar South Pole, presumably on the New Glenn NG-3 flight in early 2026.
Plans to reuse ‘Never Tell Me the Odds’, the booster used for the NG-2 flight, on NG-3. If successful, Blue Origin will achieve landing and then reusing a booster in relatively quick succession.
New Glenn booster ‘Never Tell Me The Odds’ returning to Port Canaveral
Blue is continuing development of its second lunar lander, Blue Moon Mark 2 (MK2). While they have made few public statements on the status and progress of the project, it is believed that they are building a flight-capable cabin for testing and crew training for the larger MK2, one of two of NASA’s selected crewed landers. Additionally, Blue is said to be working on life support, thermal control, and docking systems for MK2. Undoubtedly, the results from the MK1 mission will greatly inform the future designs of MK2.
Finally, Blue Origin created a new internal group focusing on national security missions for the US Government, and to run it they hired ULA’s CEO, Tory Bruno.
Tory Bruno
United Launch Alliance: A Year Full Of Change
2026 was a transitional year for United Launch Alliance, and one that has many observers wondering about the company’s long-term prospects, especially now that their former leader, Tory Bruno, has left to work for the competition.
ULA Vulcan USSF-106 launches in August of 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
One one hand, the company has an estimated 70 launches backlogged, with the majority being LEO satellites for Amazon’s Leo telecommunications constellation. On the other, Vulcan has been slow to build any cadence, with August 2025 being the last launch and NET March 2026 for its next flight. That’s not going to trim the backlog appreciably.
The reasons go back to last year: October of 2024, Vulcan’s second flight, CERT-2 saw one of its solid rocket boosters (SRB) nozzles detach due to a manufacturing defect in the nozzle’s internal insulator, causing an off-nominal burn. However, the main engines compensated, kept the rocket on course, and the mission still achieved its orbital goals. The company and Northrop Grumman conducted an investigation to identify the issue and prevent any recurrence.
That took several months and most of ULA’s inertia but the company continued to soldier on with other missions while it waited for the results and corrections to Vulcan.
The power of Vulcan at liftoff. USSF-106. Photo: Charles Boyer
In written testimony to Congress in May 2025, Major General Stephen G. Purdy stated the Vulcan program had performed “unsatisfactorily“ over the past year. He noted that “major issues with the Vulcan have overshadowed its successful certification,” directly resulting in the grounding of four national security missions.
Due to Vulcan’s delays, the original 60/40 mission split favoring ULA under the NSSL Phase 2 contract shifted closer to 54/46 (or nearly 50/50) in 2025, as more missions were awarded or reassigned to SpaceX. Now, Blue Origin is also in the competition future NSSL launches, with Blue expected to complete NSSL Certification next year. SpaceX isn’t going anywhere either, leaving ULA walking a tightwire in the coming year.
On August 13, 2025, ULA successfully launched its first national security mission for the U.S. Space Force using a Vulcan VC4S. The mission deployed NTS-3, an experimental navigation satellite designed to enhance GPS resilience and was a complete success.
With its Delta family retired, ULA successfully conducted four major launches for Amazon’s broadband constellation (Project Kuiper, now Amazon Leo) using Atlas V rockets. All of those missions were textbook perfect, as has been customary for the rocket.
ULA is planning to increase its launch cadence in 2026, and has all but completed a second launch tower and vertical integration facility for Vulcan.
Finally, close to the Christmas holiday, ULA announced that CEO Tory Bruno had resigned “to pursue another opportunity.” For Bruno, that opportunity turned out to be leading Blue Origin’s new National Security Group, where he will ostensibly be competing with his old company for lucrative USSL launches. At Blue Origin, Bruno will have a reusable rocket system in hand, while ULA will compete with its Vulcan rocket and the vast depth of experience the company has on its resume.
John Elbon. Credit: ULA
ULA COO John Elbon was named as the Interim CEO in a press release issued today. John Elbon is the chief operating officer for United Launch Alliance (ULA). Before his new role, Elbon was responsible for the operations of the Atlas, Delta, and Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle programs, including design, engineering, integration, production, quality assurance, and program management.
Previously, Elbon served as vice president and program manager for Boeing’s Commercial Programs. In that position, Elbon managed Boeing’s efforts on NASA’s Commercial Crew Space Act Agreements, including the first two phases of the Commercial Crew Development, which for Boeing was the Starliner CST program.
Rocket Lab
In 2025, Rocket Lab completed 21 Electron launches, maintaining one of the highest success rates in the small-satellite market and continuing to serve commercial, civil, and national security customers. Electron missions flew from both New Zealand and Virginia, reinforcing Rocket Lab’s value as a responsive, geographically flexible company.
At the same time, much of Rocket Lab’s strategic focus shifted toward the future with continued development of Neutron, its upcoming medium-lift, partially reusable rocket. Throughout 2025, the company advanced engine testing, structural manufacturing, and launch infrastructure work at Wallops Island, Virginia.
A Rocket Lab Electron launching from Wallops Island in Virginia.
While Neutron did not fly during the year as the company had expected, visible progress signaled Rocket Lab’s intent to move beyond small payloads and compete for larger commercial constellations and U.S. government missions later in the decade.
Beyond launch vehicles, Rocket Lab also expanded its space systems business, delivering spacecraft components, solar panels, and complete satellites to a growing customer base.
Rocket Lab’s share price rose sharply in 2025, with investors seeing significant gains in their positions.
Via Google
Taken together, 2025 was not a year of dramatic firsts for Rocket Lab, but one of consolidation and preparation — proving it could sustain a high launch tempo today while methodically building the capability to play a much bigger role in the launch market of the future.
NASA
The year was marked by layoffs, with uncertainty and dread a prevalent mood for many at the agency as the new presidential budget called for drastic cuts in NASA’s science programs.
The year also saw a great deal of preparation for a return to the Moon under Artemis, a major anniversary for the International Space Station, and visible progress in science, aviation, and artificial intelligence. It was also a year of leadership change, with private-space veteran Jared Isaacman nominated and later confirmed to a senior NASA leadership role, signaling closer alignment between the agency and the commercial space sector.
Workers preparing Artemis II in NASA’s VAB on February 25. 2025.
The year set the tone for a decade defined by sustained activity rather than isolated milestones.
Lunar exploration remained a central focus. NASA continued methodical preparations for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon since Apollo, completing the stacking of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft and running dozens of mission simulations to stress-test procedures and crew timelines. At the same time, the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program delivered tangible results.
Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost Mission One achieved a successful lunar landing in early March, while Intuitive Machines’ second Nova-C lander reached the surface days later, gathering data despite landing on its side. Together, the missions reinforced NASA’s strategy of using commercial partners to deliver science and technology to the Moon more frequently and at lower cost.
Firefly’s Blue Ghost on the lunar surface, with Earth in the background. Credit: Firefly Aerospace
Beyond the Moon, NASA continued expanding its deep-space science portfolio. In November, the twin ESCAPADE spacecraft were launched toward Mars to investigate how the planet’s weak magnetic environment interacts with the solar wind, a key factor in understanding how Mars lost much of its atmosphere. Planning for future lunar surface science also advanced when Blue Origin was selected to deliver the VIPER rover to the Moon’s south pole later in the decade, keeping the agency’s search for water ice on track.
Space science and Earth observation saw several high-profile missions reach orbit in 2025. In March, NASA launched the SPHEREx space telescope to conduct an all-sky infrared survey while also deploying the PUNCH mission to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere and the origins of the solar wind.
Over the summer, the NISAR satellite, a joint mission with India’s ISRO, lifted off to provide unprecedented radar mapping of Earth’s ice sheets, forests, and changing landscapes. Astronomers also turned their attention outward as NASA coordinated global observations of 3I/ATLAS, only the third confirmed interstellar object ever detected passing through our solar system.
Closer to home, the Lucy spacecraft added another successful asteroid flyby to its mission, passing 52246 Donaldjohanson and returning detailed images that will help refine models of early solar system formation.
ISS. Credit: NASA
Human spaceflight milestones were just as prominent aboard the International Space Station. In November, the ISS marked 25 consecutive years of continuous human presence in orbit, a milestone that underscored its role as a testbed for long-duration missions beyond Earth.
Earlier in the year, astronaut Suni Williams set a new record for cumulative spacewalk time by a woman, reflecting both the station’s ongoing maintenance demands and the growing experience of its crews. Williams had the opportunity to mark that achievement because she and Butch Wilmore were part of the ill-fated Boeing CFT mission that launched in 2024 and led to an unexpected nine-month stay on station. The Boeing CFT astronauts joined Crew 9, which launched in September 2024 and landed in the Pacific Ocean on March 18, 2025.
Boeing Starliner CFT-1astronauts on May 29, 2024
Logistics capabilities also expanded with the arrival of Northrop Grumman’s first Cygnus XL cargo spacecraft, which delivered larger payloads and increased flexibility for station resupply. SpaceX provided the lift for Cygnus, as Northrop Grumman has yet to complete development of a new Antares 300-series replacement.
NASA also made visible progress in aviation and emerging technologies. The X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft completed its long-awaited first flight in October, validating a design meant to dramatically reduce sonic booms and potentially reopen the door to commercial supersonic travel over land.
X-59 quiet supersonic aircraft. Credit: NASA
In materials science, the agency’s heat-resistant superalloy GRX-810 earned recognition as NASA’s 2025 Commercial Invention of the Year, highlighting work aimed at improving engines and structures for extreme environments.
Taken together, 2025 was less about a single headline mission and more about steady progress across many fronts. NASA strengthened its lunar pipeline, celebrated a quarter-century of continuous human spaceflight, launched major new science missions, and laid the groundwork for how future exploration will be managed and analyzed. They also got a new administrator after a tumultuous nomination process. Jared Isaacman will bring many new ideas and changes to the agency, changes that will hopefully rejuvenate and reinvigorate the US space program.
As seen from the KSC Press Site: SpaceX B1090 descends towards a landing at Cape Canaveral after lofting Crew 10 to the edge of space on March 14, 2025. Photo: Charles Boyer
Others
Sierra Space
In 2025, Sierra Space moved its Dream Chaser program through a series of important ground milestones while also reworking its near-term flight plans. The spaceplane, named Tenacity, completed extensive pre-flight testing, including electromagnetic compatibility checks and runway tow trials, clearing several technical hurdles ahead of flight. That flight, planned for 2024, will now take place in 2026. Maybe.
Dream Chaser Tenacity at Kennedy Space Center Photo: Sierra Space
The program’s first mission was significantly reshaped. What was initially planned as a cargo run to the International Space Station was revised into a standalone orbital demonstration, now targeted for late 2026. NASA amended its contract with Sierra Space, removing guaranteed ISS delivery missions as the company redirected more attention toward defense and national security work.
As a result, Tenacity’s debut will focus on proving core flight and reentry capabilities rather than docking operations. The change reflects both development challenges and the additional certification steps required for ISS missions. While near-term station flights are no longer assured, Dream Chaser could still play a role in future logistics, including potential cargo deliveries to commercial space stations such as Orbital Reef, once the vehicle completes its initial orbital testing.
Relativity
Eric Schmidt
In 2025, Relativity Space entered a new phase after a major leadership shakeup. In March, Eric Schmidt stepped in as chief executive following a substantial investment in the company. Under his leadership, Relativity moved away from its earlier goal of fully 3D-printed rockets, adopting a more pragmatic hybrid manufacturing strategy while accelerating development of its larger, reusable Terran R launch vehicle.
Schmidt is a former Google
Stoke Space
Stoke Space, the Kent, Washington, company founded by former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees, had a good 2025, making major progress toward the first launch of its Nova rocket.
Rockets need launch pads, and Stoke has rebuilt SLC-14 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to modern standards for Nova. This is no small accomplishment, and on top of that, Stoke was respectful of the history of 14: this is where John Glenn launched in Mercury-Atlas 6, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth.
Bird's eye view of SLC-14 looking sharp. Kudos to the team who refurbished this historic site. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/XOU02lDQNF
As for Nova itself, work is focused on final hardware qualification as the company simultaneously activates SLC-14. Stoke had previously planned for a 2025 debut of Nova, but mid-year, the company shifted to the right on the launch calendar in order to complete SLC-14 and to iron out any remaining issues with Nova.
The 40.2-meter (132-foot) tall rocket is expected to fly in the early part of next year. Stoke is also planning to slowly introduce reusability, so expect the first launch to be expendable.
Boeing
In 2025 Boeing welcomed a new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, previously the president and CEO of Rockwell Collins. Ortberg promised major changes throughout the company, including its spaceflight division.
In November 2025, NASA reduced Boeing’s Commercial Crew contract from six planned missions to the International Space Station (ISS) down to four. This followed technical issues during the 2024 crewed flight test that necessitated the astronauts’ return on a SpaceX vehicle in early 2025. The next mission for Starliner will be uncrewed and carrying cargo, but no date for that mission has been announced.
The news was not all bad for Boeing: their autonomous X-37B spaceplane continued its eighth mission, conducting long-duration orbital experiments as well as novel orbital maneuvers that can quickly place the spacecraft in a new orbit very quickly. In the quickly militarizing orbital environment, this is a tactical advantage yet to be demonstrated by any other nation.
The X-37B. Credit: Boeing
Boeing also continued working on the SLS core stage. It’s Artemis II hardware is in the VAB awaiting rollout and at the time of this writing, the core stage for Artemis III is in an advanced state of manufacturing. After that, it is difficult to tell if the SLS rocket will be canceled by NASA and the Trump administration or if Boeing and others will continue manufacturing the rocket.
Taken overall, the year was an incredibly exciting one, but also one that sets the stage for the future: in 2026 humans will return to cislunar space and further development for landing on the lunar surface will continue apace. Vast Space is planning to launch Vast-1, the first privately owned and operated space station in LEO. We’ll also see SpaceX passing 10,000 Starlink satellites on orbit at some point in 2026, along with Amazon’s nascent Leo constellation starting to take form. There will be new rockets making their debut, and in between, lot of launches, especially Falcon 9 launches.
Stay tuned.
Atlas V Amazon Leo 4 timelapse as seen from 528 West in Merritt Island. Photo: Charles Boyer
Limits on some general aviation operations at 12 airports
Limits on some visual flight rule approaches at facilities with staffing triggers
Limits on commercial space launches and reentries to the hours between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. local time
Limits on parachute operations and photo missions near facilities with staffing triggers
Only three days earlier, on November 13, the FAA had “made permanent” the rules it rescinded yesterday.
“Today’s decision to rescind the order reflects the steady decline in staffing concerns across the NAS and allows us to return to normal operations,” said FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “I am grateful for the hard work of the FAA safety and operations teams and for their focus on the safety of the traveling public.”
Good News For SpaceX Especially
The rescission of the emergency order is good news for all launch services companies, but especially for SpaceX. They have a high cadence of Starlink launches on both coasts, and while they usually launch in the late hours of the evening or early hours overnight, there are many times when orbital mechanics demand a launch between 6am and 10pm — the hours formerly restricted.
Tomorrow’s Starlink launch, for example. The launch window opens at 6:29 PM ET, and extends until 10:29 PM ET the same day. While SpaceX could have waited until 10 PM to launch Starlink 6-94, they would undoubtedly prefer to have the ability launch earlier legally.
Falcon 9 Block 5 | Starlink Group 6-94 — Go for Launch!
Organization
SpaceX
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Falcon 9
Pad
Space Launch Complex 40
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Tuesday, 11/18/2025 6:29:00 PM
Window Closes
Tuesday, 11/18/2025 10:29:00 PM
Destination
Low Earth Orbit
Mission Description
A batch of 29 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project
for space-based Internet communication system.
New Glenn NG-2 ESCAPADE lifting off on November 13. 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Good things come to those who wait, or so goes the old saying. For Blue Origin and the second flight of New Glenn, the second flight of New Glenn was definitely worth that wait: a flawless liftoff, flight to orbit and a booster safely landed aboard Jacklyn, the company’s landing platform stationed offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. Not a bad day’s work.
New Glenn’s seven BE-4 engines ignited at 3:55:01 PM ET Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and the rocket began its slow climb into space.
New Glenn NG-2 ESCAPADE lifting off on November 13. 2025
Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Not since the Saturn V has a rocket so large flown from the Eastern Range without the benefit of solid rocket boosters, and it showed as New Glenn seemed to take its time tearing away the surly bonds of gravity on its way to space. Slow it may have started, but New Glenn didn’t take long to gather speed and start its climb to space in earnest.
New Glenn HG-2 ESCAPADE shortly after Max-Q on November 13, 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Max-Q came at about T+ 01:35, and MECO at T+ 03:05 into the flight. As GS-2, New Glenn’s second stage continued ascent towards orbit, the first stage began a series of maneuvers that culminated in the first stage landing aboard Jacklyn, Blue’s drone ship landing platform at about T +09:15. After the smoke cleared, the result was clear: Blue Origin had landed their 89 feet (57.5 meters) tall booster on only their second try.
New Glenn NG-2 ESCAPADE in flight on November 13. 2025 Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Meanwhile, at about thirteen minutes into flight, New Glenn achieved its initial orbit and one burn later, at T +33:18 the Rocket Lab built payloads of twin Martian orbiters began deployment.
All in all, it seemed textbook flawless, and even though there were software glitches, ground equipment issues, and other anomalies on the way to liftoff, it’s fair to say that Blue Origin had the day they’d been working for during most of 2025 after the first flight of New Glenn in January. They had an entirely successful mission, and, like NG-1, their engineers gained experience and real-world data in the process. They will undoubtedly put that new knowledge to work, probably before dawn tomorrow as the company gets back to work and starts preparing for its upcoming third New Glenn launch.
Via Blue Origin’s launch stream: New Glenn GS-1 “Never Tell Me The Odds” rests safely aboard Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean.
“We achieved full mission success today, and I am so proud of the team,” said Dave Limp, CEO, Blue Origin. “It turns out Never Tell Me The Odds had perfect odds—never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try. This is just the beginning as we rapidly scale our flight cadence and continue delivering for our customers.”
Gwynne Shotwell, CEO of SpaceX said this about Blue Origin’s mission today. Via X.com
ESCAPADE Have A Long Path Ahead
Ground controllers established communications with both spacecraft by 10:35 PM ET. The pair of satellites will now travel to a staging orbit near the Sun–Earth L₂ point, roughly a million miles from Earth.
For ESCAPADE twin satellites, the journey is just beginning.
ESCAPADE — Road Trip to Mars (Travel Plan Overview)
Phase
When
What Happens
1. Launch & Drop-off
Nov 2025
Twin ESCAPADE probes launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn from Cape Canaveral.
New Glenn places them on a high Earth-proximity trajectory headed toward
the Earth–Sun L2 region instead of a direct Mars transfer.
2. Loiter “Kidney-Bean” Orbit
Late 2025 → Late 2026
Spacecraft enter a long, kidney-bean-shaped orbit near an Earth–Sun
Lagrange point. They perform checkouts and space-weather observations
while waiting for the next favorable Earth–Mars alignment in late 2026.
3. Earth Return & Trans-Mars Injection
Nov 2026
As the loiter orbit swings them back by Earth, the probes pass through a
low perigee and fire their main engines. This burn harnesses the Oberth
effect to efficiently push them onto a Mars-bound trajectory.
4. Cruise to Mars
Late 2026 → Sept 2027
ESCAPADE follows a ballistic transfer orbit to Mars, with small
trajectory-correction maneuvers along the way. Total time from launch to
Mars arrival is about 22 months.
5. Mars Arrival & Capture Orbits
~Sept 2027 → Early 2028
The probes perform Mars Orbit Insertion into a large, highly elliptical
capture orbit. Over the following months, they trim and adjust their
orbits into coordinated science configurations around Mars.
6. Main Science Phase
Late Spring 2028 →
In their final orbits, the twin spacecraft make simultaneous measurements
from different vantage points to study Mars’ magnetosphere and how the
atmosphere escapes into space.
“The ESCAPADE mission is part of our strategy to understand Mars’ past and present so we can send the first astronauts there safely,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Understanding Martian space weather is a top priority for future missions because it helps us protect systems, robots, and most importantly, humans, in extreme environments.”
The Immediate Future Looks Bright For Blue
Blue Origin said today that it has several vehicles in production and multiple years of orders for New Glenn flights. They added in their press release today that in addition to NASA and Viasat, customers include Amazon’s Project Kuiper (Now Amazon LEO), AST SpaceMobile, and several telecommunications providers, among others.
The mission marked the vehicle’s second National Security Space Launch (NSSL) certification flight as well. Blue Origin is certifying New Glenn with the U.S. Space Force for the NSSL program to provide launch services for high-value military payloads, and today’s flight was another step towards achieving that certification.
Now Blue Origin has to work on cadence: for New Glenn to be a profitable and useful program, it must be able to recycle and relaunch vehicles relatively quickly. As Blue stated, they have more hardware under construction here at Exploration Park on Merritt Island. They also have a returning booster to refurbish, repair, and return to the launch pad. It’s a solid start, and a sign that Blue Origin is starting to fulfill its potential as a true competitor in the commercial launch services marketplace.
File photo of Atlas V at SLC-41. Photo: Charles Boyer
A rare launch doubleheader — one that does not involve SpaceX — is planned for today from Cape Canaveral. First, in the afternoon, Blue Origin will make another attempt to get New Glenn off of the pad at LC-36A, and later in the evening, ULA will make a second attempt to launch Atlas V and the ViaSat-3 mission.
Both missions were delayed from their original launch attempts by scrubs: Blue Origin because of weather, then solar storms, ULA by a faulty valve that the company replaced on the rocket.
At A Glance
New Glenn
Organization
Blue Origin
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
New Glenn
Pad
Launch Complex 36A
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Thursday, 11 / 13 / 2025 2:57 PM
Window Closes
Thursday, 11 / 13 / 2025 4:25 PM
Destination
Mars Orbit
Mission Description
Second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn carrying the EscaPADE dual-spacecraft mission (UC Berkeley) to study ion and sputtered escape from Mars, energy/momentum transport from the solar wind through Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere, and how energy and matter flow into and out of the collisional atmosphere.
As of 8:59 AM Thursday November 13, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
BlueOrigin.com for updates.
Atlas-V
Organization
United Launch Alliance
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
Atlas V 551
Pad
Space Launch Complex 41
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Thursday, 11 / 13 / 2025 10:04 PM
Window Closes
Thursday, 11 / 13 / 2025 10:48 PM
Destination
Geostationary Transfer Orbit
Mission Description
The ViaSat-3 series comprises three Ka-band high-capacity satellites; each is designed for >1 Tbps of network capacity with flexible, regionally targetable coverage.
Launch times are subject to change or cancellation at any time.
Weather
Oddly, at the time of this writing, the 45th Weather Squadron of the US Space Force’s Launch Delta 45 has removed their Launch Mission Execution Forecast for Blue Origin’s New Glenn. They do have yesterday’s LMEF for Atlas V:
Solar activity is still expected to be high, and Spaceweather.com is saying that, “Currently, storm levels are bouncing between category G1 (Minor) and G3 (Strong) as solar wind blows around Earth faster than 900 km/s. NOAA forecasters say there is also a lingering chance of severe G4-class storms on Nov. 13th.”
While that is an improvement from yesterday, it is still possible that mission managers for either launch may look at the current conditions and demur due to the impacts of Sunspot 2247. One thing is for sure: Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance and the 45th Weather Squadron have better space weather resources — experts, data, etc. — than the general public. If mission managers are confident, it’s with good reason.
As always, take a “we’ll see what happens” attitude, a comfortable chair and something cool to drink while you wait.
New Glenn standing on its launch pad at LC-36A in Cape Canaveral. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Launch Viewing: In Person
LC-36A is clearly visible all the way down Cocoa beach, the closest being the pier at Jetty Park. Also close to SLC-36 is The Banana River Bridge. This will be a relatively big launch, and if you plan to go to one of the more popular spots for Blue Origin’s launch attempt, go early.
More or less the same spots will work later in the evening for Atlas V, but given that SLC-41 is further north than LC-36A, the southern Titusville Parks or roadside off of 528W at the Banana River bridge might be a wee bit better than the beaches.
Free Advice
Watch the YouTube streams for the latest/greatest information. Things change pretty fast as the countdown heads towards zero, and Will Robinson-Smith on Spaceflight Now or the announcers on Blue Origin’s live stream will keep you up to date.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
It’s not often that this happens, but solar activity has forced Blue Origin to scrub today’s launch attempt of New Glenn from Cape Canaveral.
NG-2 Update: New Glenn is ready to launch. However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve. We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch…
Solar activity has been quite high in the past few days as sunspot 4274 has created coronal mass ejection events this week. Last night, aurorae were visible as far south as Central Florida, and that electrical activity is not good for rockets and payloads. According to NOAA, that activity is set to continue today:
Credit: NOAA. Retrieved November 11, 2025
The culprit is sunspot 4274 (circled in the solar disk photo above), which is nearing the solar horizon and will rotate with the sun to its side facing away from Earth. Today, however, is going be a busy one insofar as solar activity, according to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center. That necessitated a launch delay.
When Will Blue Origin Try Again?
As their post on X states, Blue Origin is looking at dates and working with officials at the Eastern Range to determine a new launch date for New Glenn. Space Weather is of course a current concern, but their launch date may be affected by United Launch Alliance’s next attempt to launch Atlas V and the ViaSat-3 mission, currently scheduled for tomorrow night.
That’s where it gets sticky: ULA might also be forced to cancel their launch attempt for the same reason Blue Origin scrubbed today: solar storms affecting Earth’s atmosphere. Forecasters at Spaceweather.com posted today that, “Last night’s severe (G4) geomagnetic storm is subsiding, but the action is not over. Earth’s magnetic field is still reverberating from a double-strike of CMEs on Nov. 11th. A third CME is expected to hit Earth on Nov. 12th, elevating storm levels back to G3/G4.” How long that lasts will determine ULA’s plan and whether they have to push their launch.
Should that happen, there will be some congestion on the Range, and at that point, priorities will need to be assigned. Stay tuned,
Why Does Solar Weather Matter To Rockets?
Solar activity can disrupt the communications and navigation systems that ascending rockets rely on. Radio bursts from solar flares add noise to tracking radars and telemetry links, while geomagnetic storms disturb the ionosphere, degrading GPS accuracy used by guidance and range safety. These events also heat the upper atmosphere, increasing drag and altering ascent conditions, complicating performance predictions.
Today’s solar disk. Credit: NASA / SDO
Launch operators monitor space-weather alerts and compare conditions to launch commit criteria; when space weather indices are elevated, they may delay to keep comms, navigation, and environmental margins within acceptable limits. In other words, it’s electrical activity that can scramble vital communications and control.
Blue Origin and NASA did just that, wisely not taking these risks lightly and choosing to wait for the storms to fade and the atmosphere to calm before launching New Glenn.
As the old saying goes: “It’s better to be on the ground wishing you were in the air, than in the air wishing you were on the ground.”
New Glenn standing on its launch pad at LC-36A in Cape Canaveral. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
New Glenn NG-2 standing ready to launch on November 9 with omnipresent gray clouds lurking in the background. They would soon bring rain. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin called off the highly anticipated first launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday afternoon, citing poor weather conditions at Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 36. It was a day when the sun and rain alternated, and sometimes the sun would stay out while it was raining: call it sunny rain. That proved to be unacceptable to the launch team, and a scrub was called just at the end of the launch window, around 4:15 PM ET.
Blue Origin will recycle and reset, planning for the next attempt for a launch on Wednesday afternoon. The window opens at 2:50 PM ET, and extends to 4:17 the same day.
This Launch Had Everything
It’s rare to say that a launch countdown is an adventure, but this one was — it had everything: rain, then sun, then more rain, fishing boats fouling the range, then the fishing boat losing one of two of its motors and having to limp out to a safe area, and finally, once the fishermen were safely north of the exclusion area, a cruise ship ignoring the Notice to Mariners advisory and heading out into the range, temporarily fouling it in their rush to head to sea with thousands of vacationers aboard.
The first part, weather, you could follow with your own eyes if you were watching from close by. The second, boats and ships in the exclusion area, was a drama easily followed on Channel 16 of the marine band. The weather was shifting often as a steady line of storms between Titusville and Daytona Beach would move south, then drift north. The boat captains were generally cooperative and jocular. The cruise ship? Silent on the channels we were monitoring.
Blue Origin had their own water security team to help keep the range clear. They had a busy day yesterday, starting in the morning when New Glenn started its propellant load. Look closely, and you could see him checking us out closely, even though we were outside any closed areas. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Crowds were heavy, with Jetty Park and Cherie Down Park in Cape Canaveral reaching capacity despite the weather. The beaches were lined with spectators as well, with everyone looking forward to the sight of the 322-foot rocket lumbering skyward. It was not to be on this day, but few grumbles were heard from anyone.
Jetty Park Pier was lined solid with launch spectators mixed in with the press. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
New Glenn NG-2 on the launch pad this morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin has raised New Glenn to its vertical launch position at LC-36A, with the 322-foot-tall set to liftoff this afternoon between 2:45 PM and 5:11 PM ET. Weather may be a concern, with acceptable conditions expected to fade as the afternoon progresses.
After booster separation, Blue Origin will attempt to land the GS-1 New Glenn first stage on Jacklyn, its automated droneship.
At A Glance
Organization
Blue Origin
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
New Glenn
Pad
Launch Complex 36A
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Sunday, 11 / 09 / 2025 2:45 PM
Window Closes
Sunday, 11 / 09 / 2025 5:11 PM
Destination
Mars Orbit
Mission Description
Second flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn carrying NASA’s EscaPADE dual-spacecraft mission (UC Berkeley) to study ion and sputtered escape from Mars and the energy/momentum flow through Mars’ hybrid magnetosphere.
As of 7:34 PM Saturday November 8, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
BlueOrigin.com for updates.
New Glenn at LC-36A today. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Weather
The 45th Weather Squadron of Space Launch Delta 45 has released their latest weather forecast for tomorrow’s launch window: 65->55% GO.
An interesting area of concern is noted by the 45th: solar activity. Currently, NOAA forecasters expect moderate geomagnetic storms for the next seventy-two hours as additional Coronal Mass Ejections brush or strike Earth’s magnetic field, due to activity traced to active sunspot 4274.
Sunspot 4274, circled. Credit: NASA/SDO
Fortunately, the concern is rated low to moderate, so it’s worth keeping the corner of your eye on it.
Trajectory
Neither Blue Origin or NASA have provided any specific numbers, but the launch trajectory is expected to be ~28.5° — due east.
Payload
ESCAPADE is a pair of small, matching Mars probes built by Rocket Lab, with each carrying compact instruments to sample magnetic fields and charged particles around the planet. The sensor suite includes a magnetometer provided by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and lightweight plasma instruments developed with university collaborators, sized for a dual-spacecraft flight.
ESCAPADE Spacecraft. Credit: Rocket Lab
Their job is to observe how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ patchy crustal magnetism and how that interaction helps strip the upper atmosphere. By flying in coordinated orbits, the two spacecraft can compare conditions at different points at nearly the same time, building a time-varying picture of Mars’ magnetosphere and ionosphere that a single probe would miss.
The mission is led and operated by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, which will command the spacecraft and manage science operations. Rocket Lab built and integrated the vehicles; Blue Origin provides launch services for the ride off Earth, with additional contributions from partners including NASA Goddard and industry and academic teams.
Launch Viewing: In Person
LC-36A is clearly visible all the way down Cocoa beach, the closest being the pier at Jetty Park. Also close to SLC-36 is The Banana River Bridge. This will be a relatively big launch, and if you plan to go to one of the more popular spots, go early.
If possible, watch one of the YouTube streams for the latest/greatest information. Things change pretty fast as the countdown heads towards zero, and Will Robinson-Smith on Spaceflight Now or the announcers on Blue Origin’s live stream will keep you up to date.
Remember that there is a delay between a launch stream and the actual countdown clock. That is simply because of physics: it takes time for the signal to travel from the launch site, through the Internet, and back down to your phone, resulting in a five to fifteen-second delay.
New Glenn NG-1 at LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin has officially announced the launch date and time window for its second New Glenn mission, NG‑2. It is now officially scheduled to lift off no earlier than Sunday, November 9, 2025, from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The launch window opens at 2:45 PM ET and closes at 5:11 PM ET (19:45–22:11 UTC).
🚀 Launch Alert | We're targeting New Glenn's second launch no earlier than Sunday, November 9, from LC-36. NG-2 will send @NASA's ESCAPADE twin spacecraft on their journey to Mars and carry a @Viasat technology demonstration for @NASASpaceOps' Communications Services Project. pic.twitter.com/6rK6wg9yxJ
An Early Look At The Weather For Sunday November 9th
Weather might pose a problem on Sunday, as there is a ~40-50% chance of rain in the forecast. Monday the 10th looks to be the beginning of a cold spell for the Space Coast, as winds will shift to the northwest as a frigid air mass approaches the area. Veteran’s Day will bring a winter-like high of 62ºF, with northerly winds ranging from 10-20 MPH. While none of that is any sort of Launch Mission Execution Forecast, it’s reason able to expect the 45th Weather Squadron to come out with something less than an ideal forecast for this flight.
In Brief
New Glenn | EscaPADE
Organization
Blue Origin
Location
Cape Canaveral SFS, FL, USA
Rocket
New Glenn
Pad
Launch Complex 36A
Status
Go for Launch
Status Info
Current T-0 confirmed by official or reliable sources.
Window Opens
Sunday, 11 / 09 / 2025 2:45 PM
Window Closes
Sunday, 11 / 09 / 2025 5:11 PM
Destination
Mars Orbit
Mission Description
Maiden flight of Blue Origin’s New Glenn carrying NASA’s twin Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (EscaPADE) to study ion and sputtered escape from Mars and the processes that shape the planet’s hybrid magnetosphere and energy/momentum transport from the solar wind.
As of 10:16 AM Thursday November 6, 2025. Launch assignments and times are subject to change or cancellation at any time. Consult
BlueOrigin.com for updates.
The NG‑2 mission will carry the Rocket Lab-built ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft — a pair of identical satellites bound for Mars. Also aboard is a technology demonstration payload for Viasat, part of NASA’s Communications Services Project.
The New Glenn rocket’s first stage will attempt recovery via landing on the offshore ship Jacklyn, while the upper stage delivers the payload to its Mars-bound trajectory. Jacklyn left Port Canaveral overnight, and is now steaming towards its planned downrange position to await GS-1, New Glenn’s booster.
While Blue Origin has maintained that a successful booster landing remains a tertiary goal for the mission, it is still an important one for the company: recovering the first stage sets the table for refurbishment and reflight, a key part of the economics of the New Glenn program. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp commented yesterday on social media on the landing attempt, saying, “What if we don’t stick the landing? That’s ok. We’ve got several more New Glenn boosters already in production.”
The first two goals are obvious: a successful ascent to orbit for the 320 ft (98 m) tall rocket flying for the second time. Following that, a successful payload deployment for NASA and ViaSat, Blue Origin’s customers for NG-2.
Stay Tuned
As always, lots of things can and probably will change prior to Sunday in regards to the mission.
New Glenn NG-2 Static Fire on October 30, 2025, at LC-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo: Blue Origin
‘If at first you don’t succeed’, the old saying goes, ‘try, try again.’
That’s what Blue Origin did last night at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral. After an apparently aborted static fire earlier in the evening, the company was able to successfully complete the vital test shortly before 10 pm ET.
The first attempt saw the water-based sound suppression system activate before a brief ignition and quick shutdown. Nonplussed, Blue’s engineers recycled their systems and around 9:59 pm, all seven BE-4 engines were started, with Blue Origin later saying that they “performed nominally with a 38 second duration test including all seven engines operating at 100% thrust for 22 seconds.”
Dave Limp, Blue Origin’s CEO, said later on social media that, “We extended the hotfire duration this time to simulate the landing burn sequence by shutting down the non-gimballed engines after ramping down to 50 percent thrust, then shutting down the outboard gimballed engines while ramping the center engine to 80 percent thrust. This helps us understand fluid interactions between active and inactive engine feedlines during landing.”
Limp went on to add that the NG-2 launch campaign can move on to payload integration and final preparation of the 322-foot tall rocket for flight. That flight is currently slated for NET November 9th, where it will carry two Rocket Lab-built satellites destined for Mars.’
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