Blue Origin Scrubs New Glenn Launch for NASA Mars Mission Due to Weather

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Blue Origin‘s New Glenn rocket, designed to compete with SpaceX’s Falcon rockets, was set to launch NASA‘s Escapade mission on November 9, 2025. The takeoff was scheduled for 2:45 p.m. ET during an 88-minute launch window.

However, the launch was called off due to cloud cover that moved into the area, preventing the rocket from liftoff. Cloudy conditions can make launches risky due to the potential for lightning strikes, which are often triggered by flying through electrified clouds.

Blue Origin announced on social media that it is reviewing opportunities for its next launch attempt based on the projected weather conditions. They indicated the possibility of another attempt on Monday.

Laura Maginnis, New Glenn’s vice president of mission management, warned that Monday’s forecast may mirror the conditions that led to Sunday’s scrubbed launch, during a Saturday news briefing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented restricted launch hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. ET starting Monday to help air traffic controllers amid a government shutdown, which adds complexity to launch scheduling.

Blue Origin’s potential launch window on Monday is set between 2:40 p.m. and 4:08 p.m. ET. The next flight of the New Glenn rocket aims to send twin spacecraft on a mission to Mars, with the payload being the Escapade mission’s satellites.

The New Glenn rocket also has the added challenge of attempting to land its first-stage booster on a barge in the ocean, after previous efforts failed during its inaugural launch in January 2025. Maginnis stated that the company has made several adjustments to their systems to increase the likelihood of a successful landing this time around.

If everything proceeds as planned, the Escapade satellites could reach Martian orbit by 2027. The research will provide insights into Mars’ atmosphere and climate, which could inform future missions to the planet.

Robert Lillis, principal investigator for the mission, emphasized the significance of the data that the spacecraft will collect to understand solar storms that could impact astronauts in the future. Following the recent delays due to weather and regulatory hurdles, Blue Origin aims to execute the launch successfully.