Blue Origin, the space venture founded by Jeff Bezos, called off the planned Sunday afternoon launch of its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket. The decision was made due to unfavorable weather conditions, some minor technical issues at the launch site, and the unexpected presence of a cruise ship that entered the rocket’s projected path.
Late Sunday, Blue Origin announced it would try again to launch New Glenn’s second mission on Wednesday, November 12. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had imposed new launch restrictions last week because of the government shutdown. In a post on X, Blue Origin said it coordinated with the FAA to proceed with the rescheduled attempt. The launch window will open at 2:50 p.m. ET and remain open until 4:17 p.m. ET.
This particular launch holds significant value for Blue Origin for several reasons.
One key objective is to demonstrate the rocket’s full reusability. Although New Glenn made it to orbit during its debut in January, the booster was destroyed before it could successfully land on an ocean drone ship. Blue Origin aims to achieve a successful booster landing for the first time with this upcoming flight.
Additionally, this marks New Glenn’s inaugural commercial mission. The rocket is set to transport NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft, which will begin its journey to Mars, as well as a technology demonstrator for Viasat that is part of another NASA initiative. Proving that New Glenn can reliably and affordably deliver payloads to space—thanks largely to its reusable design—is essential if Blue Origin hopes to rival SpaceX, led by Elon Musk.
Blue Origin had initially intended to conduct this second launch attempt earlier in the year, but it was postponed multiple times. The launch window on Sunday at Cape Canaveral, Florida, was scheduled to open at 2:45 p.m. ET, giving the team about 90 minutes to proceed. However, concerns about the weather and minor launch pad issues led to several delays.
Just minutes before the scheduled launch, a cruise ship reportedly entered the rocket’s flight corridor. Although the ship was expected to clear the area before the 4:15 p.m. ET window closed, lingering weather concerns ultimately led Blue Origin to call off the launch.
