Technology & Science
Blue Origin Reschedules Second New Glenn/ESCAPADE Launch to 12 Nov 2025
After a Nov 9 attempt was scrubbed by rain, clouds and pad glitches, Blue Origin obtained an FAA waiver and set a new 2:50–4:17 p.m. EST window on 12 Nov 2025 for New Glenn’s second flight and first NASA payload.
Focusing Facts
- Scrubbed attempt: 9 Nov 2025, 88-minute window closed with cumulus cloud violations and a ground-systems fault.
- Next window: 12 Nov 2025, 87-minute span (19:50–21:17 UTC); mission will loft NASA’s twin ESCAPADE probes and a Viasat InRange demo.
- Booster ‘Never Tell Me the Odds’ will try a first-ever New Glenn barge landing 375 mi downrange after the inaugural booster was lost on 16 Jan 2025.
Context
Commercial rocketry keeps replaying the 1960s Moon-race dynamic—this time between privately funded titans rather than superpowers. Just as December 1968’s Apollo 8 pivoted NASA from Earth orbit to lunar orbit under Cold-War pressure, today’s FAA waiver under a government shutdown shows regulators bending to keep pace with an intensifying Bezos-Musk contest accelerated by White House deadlines and China’s advances. Reusable boosters, proven by SpaceX’s first successful Falcon 9 landing in December 2015, are now industry table-stakes; Blue Origin must demonstrate recovery to stay credible in a market that expects >100 launches a year from Florida alone. If New Glenn nails the landing and delivers ESCAPADE, it will mark the first time two separate private companies have fielded heavy-lift, reusable systems—an inflection that could, over a century, normalize deep-space logistics the way the twin-aisle jet normalized intercontinental flight after the 1957 707. Conversely, another failure would underscore how hard true reusability remains five decades after the Shuttle promised it. Either way, the shift from state monopoly to competitive private supply chains is the long arc this moment measures.
Perspectives
Tech and space-industry outlets
Spaceflight Now, TechCrunch, The Verge — Present the scrub as a routine weather slip while spotlighting New Glenn’s chance to nail its first booster landing and prove itself a serious SpaceX rival. Enthusiast publications rely heavily on company data and access, so their upbeat tone can gloss over New Glenn’s history of delays and the risk that another miss would dent Blue Origin’s credibility.
Progressive / European mainstream press
The Guardian, Euronews — Cast the postponement as the latest twist in a high-stakes billionaire space race, noting Blue Origin still lags behind Musk’s SpaceX and must navigate FAA restrictions during a U.S. shutdown. By centering on billionaire rivalry and political angles they downplay the scientific payload and can exaggerate the drama to fit a narrative critical of private-sector dominance in space.
Indian national media outlets
The Times of India, India Today, News18 — Stress the mission’s importance for Mars science and the promise of Blue Origin’s reusable rocket while calmly reporting the new launch date after weather delays. Coverage is boosterish about global space achievements and soft on technical shortcomings, reflecting an aspirational tech lens that sidelines discussion of Blue Origin’s past landing failure or regulatory favors.