Blue Origin schedules second New Glenn launch for Sunday

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ aerospace company, Blue Origin, has announced that it is preparing for a second launch attempt of its ambitious super-heavy-lift rocket, New Glenn. This significant event is expected to take place as early as Sunday, November 9, from the historic Launch Complex 36 located in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The New Glenn rocket, designed to carry both crew and cargo to a variety of orbits, represents a key milestone in Blue Origin’s broader space exploration goals.

In January this year, New Glenn’s first flight took place, and it was mostly successful. The rocket’s second stage made it into orbit, but the first stage was lost on its return to Earth before Blue Origin could attempt to land it on a drone ship in the ocean.

The company had previously aimed for a second New Glenn launch in “late spring” earlier this year, but that deadline has since slipped multiple times.

Blue Origin is being more cautious with the second launch in part because it will be carrying some cargo on behalf of paying customers this time. The main cargo is NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, which are on their way to Mars. Moreover, the Viasat tech demonstrator will also be on board.