Blue Origin scrubs New Glenn launch of ESCAPADE

WASHINGTON — Blue Origin called off its first attempt at the second launch of its New Glenn rocket Nov. 9, citing weather and other issues.

Blue Origin had pushed back the launch of the NG-2 mission from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida from the opening of the launch window, 2:45 p.m. Eastern, to 4:12 p.m., a minute before the end of the window, as clouds and rain passed over the launch site.

The countdown stopped 4 minutes and 43 seconds before the rescheduled liftoff, effectively scrubbing the launch. Blue Origin confirmed several minutes later it was calling off the launch for the day.

“Today’s NG-2 launch is scrubbed due to weather, specifically the cumulus cloud rule,” the company announced. “We’re reviewing opportunities for our next launch attempt based on forecasted weather.”

In addition to the weather, the company reported a technical issue with ground support equipment at the pad, and it was not clear that was resolved in time for launch if weather had been acceptable. There was also a cruise ship in restricted waters, but the company said it expected the boat to clear the restricted zone before the scheduled liftoff.

Blue Origin has a backup launch opportunity Nov. 10 at 2:40 p.m. Eastern. However, a launch then would require a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, which announced Nov. 6 it would restrict commercial launches to between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time effective the morning of Nov. 10. That temporary restriction is intended to address pressure on the National Airspace System caused by controllers, unpaid since early October because of a government shutdown, failing to report to work in growing numbers.

NG-2 is the second New Glenn launch and follows a mostly successful inaugural flight, NG-1, in January. On NG-1 the upper stage, carrying a demonstration payload that remained attached to the stage, reached orbit, but the first stage failed to land on a ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

The primary payload for NG-2 is NASA’s Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission, a pair of small satellites that will go to Mars to study space weather conditions there. A secondary payload from Viasat will test communications technologies for NASA’s Communications Services Project while remaining attached to the upper stage.

Blue Origin will also attempt to land the first stage on the ship Jacklyn in the Atlantic Ocean. “Our number one objective is to deliver ESCAPADE safely and successfully,” said Laura Maginnis, vice president of New Glenn mission management at Blue Origin, during a Nov. 8 briefing. “We are also planning, wanting, to land our booster.”

“If we don’t land the booster, that’s ok,” she said. “We have several more vehicles in production.”