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NASA made the decision to remove the ESCAPADE mission from Blue Origin’s New Glenn maiden launch in October due to concerns about the rocket’s readiness. This decision was made after the agency suspended pre-launch preparations for the twin spacecraft on September 6. The ESCAPADE mission consisted of two smallsats, Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers, which were slated to launch on New Glenn’s inaugural voyage from Cape Canaveral, Florida, between October 13-21.
The primary reason behind NASA’s decision to remove ESCAPADE from the launch was the need to fuel the spacecraft with hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants more than a month before the scheduled launch date. Given the uncertainties surrounding the readiness of the New Glenn rocket, NASA wanted to avoid potential financial, scheduling, and technical complications that could arise if fuel had to be removed from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay.
While Blue Origin had anticipated launching New Glenn within the nine-day mid-October window, there were still significant tasks that needed to be completed, including testing and assembling the rocket. Launch delays are common in the aerospace industry, especially with new rockets, which further contributed to NASA’s decision to err on the side of caution and allow more time before fueling the spacecraft.
Bradley Smith, director of NASA Headquarters Launch Services Office, emphasized the importance of ensuring sufficient margin in the prelaunch work to meet the tight planetary launch window. ESCAPADE could potentially launch on New Glenn in early 2025, although the exact timeline for reaching Mars on this alternate track has not been specified. Launching outside the conventional Mars launch window presents its own set of challenges, but NASA remains committed to the mission’s success.
Despite the setback, NASA officials expressed their dedication to launching ESCAPADE, a low-cost mission designed to explore the Martian magnetosphere and solar wind. Nicky Fox, NASA’s assistant administrator for science, voiced her excitement for the mission’s upcoming journey to Mars. Blue Origin also expressed support for NASA’s decision to target the ESCAPADE mission for a launch in the spring of 2025.
In addition to the ESCAPADE mission, Blue Origin announced plans to include its Blue Ring orbital transfer vehicle technology on New Glenn’s maiden flight. This launch is also expected to be its first Space Force National Security Space Launch program certification launch. Although the launch of the ESCAPADE mission has been delayed, Blue Origin remains on track to carry out the second New Glenn mission in November, instead of December as originally planned.
Despite the delays in launch preparations, Blue Origin is not expected to experience significant setbacks beyond the necessary payload changes. The top stage of the rocket is scheduled to undergo static-fire testing on the pad in early September, with the rollout potentially delayed until early November. Overall, while the removal of the ESCAPADE mission from the first New Glenn launch presents challenges, both NASA and Blue Origin are committed to ensuring the success of their respective missions.
