The sun rising behind the New Glenn booster ‘Never Tell Me The Odds’ as it prepared to enter Port Canaveral this morning. Photo: Charles Boyer / Talk of Titusville
Blue Origin’s New Glenn first stage “Never Tell Me The Odds” made a happy return to Port Canaveral this morning, marking the first time that Blue Origin returned with a New Glenn booster after a successful flight and landing.
Hundreds of spectators gathered early this morning along the shoreline and on the docks at Port Canaveral. Many arrived before dawn, cameras and phones in hand, eager to capture the moment when the 188 foot-tall booster appeared on Blue Origin’s landing ship ‘Jacklyn’ under two of ‘Harvey Stone’, Blue’s support ship. According to observers, the mood was electric — cheers, applause and shouts of “welcome home” greeted the vessel as it pulled into berth.
Entering PortThe last mileWhere it started, where it finished.
The New Glenn booster previously launched successfully on November 13, carrying NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft toward Mars and achieving the rocket’s first successful booster landing at sea. Built here on Merritt Island, many of the spectators were undoubtedly Blue Origin employees celebrating the return of their handiwork.
Now that the booster is at its home port, it will be transported to Blue Origin’s refurbishment facility, where it will be inspected, refurbished and prepared for another flight. The timing of that flight has not been announced as yet.
This also marked the first time two companies had different boosters on the wharf awaiting return to their respective facilities for refurbishment. That pairing may be eclipsed at some point in the midterm future — Stoke Space and Relativity are also planning to use the Eastern Range for launch operations, and they also plan to reuse boosters in their own right. It’s fair to say this morning was a visible sign of a new era at the Cape, one with frequent launches by multiple providers, with hardware regularly recycled and reused.
New Glenn booster ‘Never Tell Me The Odds’ standing tall aboard ‘Jacklyn’ today. Photo: Charles Boyer, Talk of Titusville
Dream Chaser undergoing runway tests at the former Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Sierra Space
Sierra Space announced that its Dream Chaser spaceplane has wrapped up a series of major pre-flight tests at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, adding that the successful campaign moves the vehicle closer to its first free-flying mission. Sierra Space also said that it hopes to fly Dream Chaser on its first orbital flight in about a year, in Q4 2026.
Florida Testing
Dream Chaser completed Electromagnetic Interference and Electromagnetic Compatibility tests inside NASA’s Space Systems Processing Facility. The work confirmed that the spacecraft can operate within expected electromagnetic conditions throughout its mission profile in space.
The team also ran high speed tow tests at KSC and Space Florida’s Launch and Landing Facility. For this work, a Freightliner Cascadia from Daimler Truck North America pulled the spaceplane down the runway to simulate landing dynamics and validate key autonomous navigation parameters.
Dream Chaser then proved it could receive telemetry and route commands between the vehicle and Mission Control in Louisville, Colorado using NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. This milestone showed the craft is ready for real time command and control during flight.
The test series closed with a post landing recovery drill that confirmed crews can safe the vehicle and reach sensitive payloads quickly.
Next Up: More Testing And Modifications
With these steps complete, Dream Chaser is expected to enter its final acoustic testing campaign in December 2025. After that, the company plans to pursue modifications in Colorado to support national security missions. These upgrades are intended to broaden the vehicle’s role and show it can meet a wide range of defense requirements.
Dream Chaser at KSC. Credit: Sierra Space
Dream Chaser remains on schedule for its first trip to low Earth orbit in the fourth quarter of 2026 under the CRS-2 contract, ending with a runway landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
“Every milestone reflects the grit, creativity and commitment of our team,” said Fatih Ozmen, Executive Chair at Sierra Space. “Dream Chaser is moving steadily toward its first flight and toward supporting the nation’s highest priority space needs.”
Dream Chaser Program Milestones
Year
Milestone
2004
Dream Chaser concept introduced by SpaceDev, inspired by NASA’s HL-20 lifting body design.
2008
Sierra Nevada Corporation acquires SpaceDev and continues development of Dream Chaser.
2010
Dream Chaser selected for NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program funding.
2013
First free flight approach and landing test of Dream Chaser Engineering Test Article at Edwards AFB.
2014
Completion of additional wind tunnel and structural tests, refining Dream Chaser’s aerodynamic design.
2016
NASA awards Sierra Nevada Corporation a Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract for Dream Chaser cargo missions to the ISS.
2017
Captive carry test of Dream Chaser at Edwards AFB to validate flight characteristics and systems.
2019
Final design reviews and major structural assembly progress for the first orbital Dream Chaser vehicle.
2021
Sierra Space (spun out from Sierra Nevada Corporation) continues integration and testing of Dream Chaser “Tenacity.”
2023
Major environmental and vibration tests completed on Dream Chaser and its Shooting Star cargo module.
2025
Pre-flight campaign at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, including EMI/EMC, tow tests, TDRSS command & telemetry checks, and recovery rehearsal; preparation for final acoustic testing in December 2025.
2026 (target)
Planned first launch of Dream Chaser to Low Earth Orbit under the CRS-2 contract, with runway landing at Vandenberg Space Force Base.
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.
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.
ULA Atlas V ViaSat-3 liftoff. Credit: United Launch Alliance
On an Atlas V 551 rocket, United Launch Alliance successfully launched the ViaSat-3 Flight 2 (F2) mission for Viasat, Inc. Liftoff was at 10:04 p.m. ET from SLC-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission was a success.
This launch concluded a rare day at The Cape: two different rockets from two different manufacturers launching on the same day, with none of them being a Falcon 9. SpaceX is well known for launching twice in one day from the Eastern Range, but this time was a bit different: Blue Origin was launching New Glenn for only the second time, and later, ULA was launching Atlas V on its last mission past low-earth orbit. There are only 11 launches left for Atlas V: six Starliner flights (if they happen) and five Project Kuiper (now Amazon LEO) missions.
In a post-flight press release, Gary Wentz, ULA vice president of Government and Commercial Program said, “At ULA, we pride ourselves in delivering our customer’s spacecraft precisely to orbit and serving as the catalyst for our customers to enable global connectivity. We partner in the shared goals of connecting the world and this successful launch aligns with this core mission. Thank you Viasat for your trust in our shared visions and successful partnership.”
For this mission, the Atlas V 551 configuration placed the ViaSat-3 F2 ultra-high-capacity broadband satellite into a geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). Once operational, the spacecraft is expected to substantially boost both the capacity and adaptability of Viasat’s global, multi-orbit network, which serves consumer, commercial and government users. Engineered to add 1 Tbps of throughput to that network, ViaSat-3 F2 will help meet rising demand for secure, dependable, high-bandwidth connectivity services across the Americas.
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.
Blue Origin was planning to launch New Glenn and the ESCAPADE mission today from Cape Canaveral, but space weather—a relatively rare issue where heightened aurora and atmospheric phenomenae — created a second delay that has kept the 322-foot-tall rocket on the launch pad at LC-36A for the time being.
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
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