Jeff Bezos' company has taken a decisive step towards the first major launch of its New Glenn rocket. It is already on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, preparing to deliver NASA's ESCAPADE probes to Mars in late October or November. This is reported by Space, writes UNN.
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Blue Origin has rolled out the first stage of its New Glenn heavy-lift rocket to the launch complex in Florida – this is the final stage before testing and the first operational flight. The mission's goal is to send two NASA ESCAPADE scientific probes to study the Martian atmosphere.
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The New Glenn rocket, about 98 meters tall, is one of the most powerful in the world. Like SpaceX's Falcon 9, it has a reusable first stage, which significantly reduces launch costs. During its maiden flight last January, the rocket successfully reached orbit, although an attempt to land its first stage on a sea platform ended in failure.
The ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) mission will launch two probes – "Blue" and "Gold" – built by Rocket Lab. They will investigate how solar wind and space weather affect the Martian atmosphere, helping NASA understand how the planet lost its thick envelope and whether it can support life again.
On September 22, the probes arrived at Florida's Space Coast for final checks. On the same day New Glenn was delivered, Blue Origin conducted another successful suborbital flight of New Shepard with six passengers – this is the company's 15th crewed launch.
A successful ESCAPADE launch will be a turning point for Blue Origin, confirming its ability to compete with SpaceX in the field of heavy-lift vehicles and interplanetary missions.
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