CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – It could be a launch double-header on Florida’s Space Coast as both Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance will attempt launches on Thursday.
Blue Origin Mars Mission live updates
Blue Origin’s New Glen Mission NG-2 is scheduled to launch Thursday afternoon from Cape Canaveral, carrying with it NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars. Escapade is expected to reach Mars by 2027.
Countdown clock reset – 3:45 p.m.
Blue Origin has reset the countdown clock to 3:45 p.m. for the next launch attempt. The rocket launch went into a “hold” with 20 seconds left in the count.
T-20 | Blue Origin enters a hold
The backstory:
Blue Origin will make another attempt to launch its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral this afternoon.
The company had to scrub its launch on Wednesday because of extreme solar activity. The delay follows a launch attempt on Sunday that was scrubbed due to bad weather. .
The rocket will be carrying NASA’s twin ESCAPADE spacecraft into orbit for the journey to Mars. The spacecraft are expected to reach the planet by 2027.
ULA trying for nighttime launch
United Launch Alliance is also planning a launch on Thursday.
The company is targeting a nighttime launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. An Atlas V rocket carrying a ViaSat high-capacity broadband satellite is set to launch from Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:04 p.m. ET.
ULA’s mission was delayed twice last week because of an issue with a booster liquid-oxygen tank vent valve.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on the Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral. (Credit: United Launch Alliance)
Space Coast nears 100 launches for the year
If Thursday’s launches are successful, they will get Florida’s Space Coast closer to reaching a record-setting 100 launches for the year.
Blue Origin’s New Glenn mission and the Atlas V launch from ULA would become the 95th and 96th launches this year. The record set in 2024 was broken by SpaceX when its Starlink mission on Nov. 10 became the 94th of 2025.
The Source: The information used to write this article was sourced from Blue Origin, NASA, ULA and previous FOX 35 reporting.
