Blue Origin scrubs second New Glenn launch, will try again November 12

Blue Origin called off the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket on Sunday after a series of unexpected issues — including poor weather, minor launch pad equipment problems, and a cruise ship that wandered into the rocket’s flight path.

The Jeff Bezos–owned space company confirmed the scrub in a post on X, adding that it plans to make another launch attempt on Wednesday, November 12. The launch window will open at 2:50 p.m. ET and close at 4:17 p.m. ET, pending weather and regulatory approval.

Blue Origin also noted that it worked closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to secure permission for the rescheduled attempt. The FAA had imposed new spaceflight restrictions last week due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, temporarily delaying some commercial missions.

Why This Launch Matters

This next launch is crucial for Blue Origin’s ambitions. While the company successfully reached orbit for the first time in January, that mission ended with the booster exploding before it could land on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

For this second flight, Blue Origin hopes to recover and reuse the booster for the first time, a milestone that would demonstrate the rocket’s full reusability — and bring it closer to rivalling Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 in cost efficiency.

New Glenn’s First Commercial Mission

The upcoming flight is also New Glenn’s first commercial mission. The rocket is set to carry NASA’s ESCAPADE spacecraft — a pair of satellites designed to study the magnetosphere of Mars — along with a Viasat technology demonstrator that’s part of another NASA initiative.

If successful, the mission will mark a turning point for Blue Origin, showing that New Glenn can reliably deliver commercial payloads to space while maintaining a sustainable reusability model.

Launch Complications on Sunday

Sunday’s attempt at Cape Canaveral, Florida, initially had a 90-minute launch window starting at 2:45 p.m. ET. However, weather delays and equipment checks caused multiple countdown holds throughout the afternoon.

Just minutes before a potential liftoff, a cruise ship entered the rocket’s restricted flight corridor, forcing another delay. Although the ship was expected to clear before the launch window closed at 4:15 p.m., worsening weather conditions ultimately led Blue Origin to scrub the attempt entirely.

Looking Ahead

The company states that all systems are in good condition and expects to proceed with the next launch attempt midweek. A successful booster recovery would mark a historic milestone for Blue Origin and solidify New Glenn’s position in the competitive commercial launch market alongside SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and ULA.