The world will have to wait a little longer before Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket takes flight for the first time.
That rocket was supposed to launch two spacecraft to Mars for NASA during an eight-day period beginning Oct. 13. But NASA announced Friday that it was pushing the mission, called ESCAPADE, to the spring of 2025, citing potential cost and technical issues with defueling the two satellites. New Glenn will now launch some of the company’s own technology in November.
The first launch of a new rocket always carries a huge risk, both to the launch vehicle and to the payload, and Blue Origin worked hard to get New Glenn ready for launch in less than a month. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp acknowledged in a message on X that there was still much to do: “Still a lot to do, but progress,” he said.
Recent reporting from Bloomberg revealing major testing flaws in New Glenn hardware also suggests the timetable was ambitious.
An October launch would have put the spacecraft in Mars orbit in early September 2025. It’s unclear how long the transit time to Mars will be with the new launch window. NASA did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment by the time of publication.
Instead of the ESCAPADE spacecraft, the first New Glenn mission, which has been delayed until November, will carry Blue Ring technology. It will also be the first certification flight under the Space Force’s National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program. Blue Origin must complete two successful New Glenn missions before it can launch national security payloads under NSSL.
Industry insiders say NASA held a crucial meeting yesterday about whether to refuel the two spacecraft. While NASA declined to comment, it essentially confirmed in a statement that the risks of a launch delay after refueling were ultimately too great: “The decision was made to avoid the significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay, which could be caused by a number of factors.”
The spacecraft, built by Rocket Lab, use hypergolic propellants, which are highly toxic. Christophe Mandy, the lead systems engineer for the ESCAPADE mission at Rocket Lab, told TechCrunch in an interview last month that the spacecraft would have to refuel and then defuel, posing risks to the two satellites.
“If we're refueled and then we have to take the fuel out, cleaning the spacecraft raises several forms of risk in the spacecraft that have to be addressed,” he said. “So if they're refueled, that opens up a certain amount of work to get the spacecraft ready for launch again.”
