Overview

• The New Glenn first stage, nicknamed “Never Tell Me the Odds,” was transported to Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral on Oct. 8.
• The mission will carry NASA’s twin ESCAPADE orbiters, Blue and Gold, built by Rocket Lab to study how solar wind interacts with Mars’ atmosphere.
• Rocket Lab shipped the ESCAPADE spacecraft to Florida in September, and final processing is underway ahead of integration with the rocket.
• Blue Origin says it intends to attempt an at-sea landing of the booster on the Jacklyn platform and to reuse the stage on a subsequent mission, including plans tied to the Blue Moon Mark 1 lander.
• Following the inaugural flight’s loss of the booster due to a failed engine restart, the FAA will verify Blue Origin’s seven corrective actions before clearing this launch.