WATCH: Blue Origin Launch Today — New Glenn Rocket Aims for Mars in Big Test for Jeff Bezos’ Company

Blue Origin, the rocket company founded by Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos, is gearing up for another attempt to launch its giant New Glenn rocket, carrying two NASA satellites on their first journey toward Mars. The rocket is set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida during a window between 2:57 and 4:25 PM ET on Thursday, after several delays caused by bad weather, a solar storm, and FAA launch restrictions. The mission, called ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers), will mark New Glenn’s first flight with a customer payload. The twin satellites will orbit near Lagrange Point 2 (L2), a stable spot about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, before heading to Mars in 2026 and entering its orbit in 2027. Led by the University of California, Berkeley, scientists will use the satellites to study Mars’ upper atmosphere and magnetic field to understand how the planet lost its atmosphere and to assess radiation risks for future explorers. The New Glenn rocket, standing over 320 feet tall, is one of the world’s largest. It has a reusable first stage designed for at least 25 missions, which Blue Origin will attempt to land on a sea platform named “Jaclyn” after launch. The rocket’s seven BE-4 engines generate more than 3.8 million pounds of thrust, while its second stage uses two BE-3U engines for operations in space. ESCAPADE is part of NASA’s SIMPLEx program, which focuses on low-cost planetary missions, and is being launched under NASA’s VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract, an effort to partner with private companies for flexible, lower-cost launches. Because Mars and Earth aren’t currently aligned for a direct route, the spacecraft will first orbit near Earth’s L2 point, waiting for the 2026 window to begin their journey to Mars. The launch, managed from Blue Origin’s Mission Control in Exploration Park near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, represents a major milestone for Bezos’ space company, as it looks to prove New Glenn’s reliability for future deep-space missions. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from US News and around the World.