Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Blue Origin has been working for years to prove that its massive New Glenn rocket can compete with the best in the space industry. The company has been under pressure ever since its first orbital launch earlier this year failed to bring the booster back safely. That failure was a big blow, since New Glenn is designed to be reusable from the start. Now, all eyes are on the rocket’s second flight.
The company had originally planned to carry it out in August. The CEO even confirmed back in June that the second mission would happen on the 15th of that month, after the team successfully ran a hot-fire test of the rocket’s second stage engine in April. It was pitched as a major step forward, one that could finally demonstrate Blue Origin’s ability to recover the rocket. But as weeks went by, doubts began to spread. Reports suggested the timeline was too ambitious, with insiders hinting that the August date may have been chosen to keep Jeff Bezos satisfied rather than reflect actual readiness. Blue Origin has also struggled to keep up with its public goal of flying eight times in 2024, something that already seemed out of reach.
Making matters more complicated, the senior vice president in charge of New Glenn, Jared Jones, left the company right after news of the slow progress surfaced. His sudden departure raised questions about the program’s pace and Bezos’s level of patience with the project. Sure enough, by mid-August, the expected launch hadn’t happened. Instead, Blue Origin announced a new target: September 29th. The mission was revealed to be carrying NASA’s EscaPADE probes to Mars. This immediately confirmed that the rocket’s debut had been delayed, since EscaPADE wasn’t ready on the original schedule. It also showed that Blue Origin’s very first flight would be tied to a high-profile NASA science mission.
Blue Origin has been working for years to prove that its massive New Glenn rocket can compete with the best in the space industry. The company has been under pressure ever since its first orbital launch earlier this year failed to bring the booster back safely. That failure was a big blow, since New Glenn is designed to be reusable from the start. Now, all eyes are on the rocket’s second flight.
The company had originally planned to carry it out in August. The CEO even confirmed back in June that the second mission would happen on the 15th of that month, after the team successfully ran a hot-fire test of the rocket’s second stage engine in April. It was pitched as a major step forward, one that could finally demonstrate Blue Origin’s ability to recover the rocket. But as weeks went by, doubts began to spread. Reports suggested the timeline was too ambitious, with insiders hinting that the August date may have been chosen to keep Jeff Bezos satisfied rather than reflect actual readiness. Blue Origin has also struggled to keep up with its public goal of flying eight times in 2024, something that already seemed out of reach.
Making matters more complicated, the senior vice president in charge of New Glenn, Jared Jones, left the company right after news of the slow progress surfaced. His sudden departure raised questions about the program’s pace and Bezos’s level of patience with the project. Sure enough, by mid-August, the expected launch hadn’t happened. Instead, Blue Origin announced a new target: September 29th. The mission was revealed to be carrying NASA’s EscaPADE probes to Mars. This immediately confirmed that the rocket’s debut had been delayed, since EscaPADE wasn’t ready on the original schedule. It also showed that Blue Origin’s very first flight would be tied to a high-profile NASA science mission.
