Janice R. Andrews
Blue Origin wants its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to take NASA’s Escapade mission to Mars on its first trip in the middle of October. The company said on Friday that the launch will happen no earlier than October 13. This is a big step forward for the space company that Jeff Bezos started. Rocket Lab built two probes that will be sent on the trip to study how the solar wind affects the atmosphere of Mars.
According to Ars Technica, the launch window for missions to Mars starts on September 29 and ends in mid-October. This happens about every two years because of the way the planets line up. South Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station is where the New Glenn launch will happen. The two satellites for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers project got to Florida on August 19 so that they could start being put together with the launch vehicle.
This trip is a big test for Blue Origin, whose work on New Glenn has been held up several times. News outlets like Bloomberg say that the company recently had two problems at its factory that damaged hardware for later trips. Even with these problems, a Blue Origin representative stated that plans are still on track for this year’s inaugural flight.
If this journey succeeds, it will not only show off Blue Origin’s skills, but it will also help NASA learn more about Mars, which will open the door for future trips to other planets.
