Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket, the powerful orbital launch vehicle developed by Jeff Bezos’s space company, remained grounded in Florida after poor weather conditions prevented its much-anticipated lift-off.
The rocket, positioned at Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, was scheduled for launch at 2:45 p.m. However, due to unfavourable skies, the launch time was delayed multiple times before mission managers decided to call off the launch at the end of the 88-minute window.
The delay has also affected NASA’s ESCAPADE mission, which was set to travel aboard New Glenn. The mission involves two identical spacecraft that will orbit Mars to study the planet’s magnetic field and atmospheric dynamics.
Blue Origin announced in a post on X on Sunday night that it will attempt the next launch no earlier than Wednesday at 2:50 p.m.
The company also mentioned that it had worked with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to secure a launch window, even as the FAA temporarily halted commercial rocket launches between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. local time. The restriction was introduced to reduce airspace congestion during the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.
“We worked with the FAA and range to select a launch window,” the company said in its statement.
Standing 321 feet tall, New Glenn is one of the largest rockets ever built. It is taller than SpaceX’s Falcon 9 but shorter than the Starship vehicle currently under testing in Texas.
Named after John Glenn, the first American astronaut to orbit Earth, the rocket features a 7-metre-wide payload fairing, offering more than double the capacity of most operational rockets. Its booster stage—the lower part of the rocket designed to lift it off the ground—is reusable, allowing it to land and be refurbished for future missions.
Although weather grounded the rocket this time, the upcoming attempt marks a significant milestone for Blue Origin, signalling the company’s progress towards joining the growing commercial space launch market.
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