Blue Origin successfully launches NASA spacecraft on journey to Mars after delays

Blue Origin's New Glenn Mission NG-2 successfully launched a second mission from Cape Canaveral Thursday, carrying NASA's twin ESCAPADE spacecraft to Mars.

The huge 321-foot (98-meter) New Glenn blasted into the sky and is expected to reach the Red Planet by 2027.

The launch was previously delayed due to extreme solar activity and bad weather.

This launch is to support ESCAPADE's science objectives as the twin spacecraft progress on their journey to the Red Planet. 

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Also onboard is a technology demonstration from Viasat in support of NASA's Communications Services Project.

Thousands of Blue Origin employees could be heard cheering and chanting when the booster separated and landed on its ocean platform offshore.

Formed in 2000 by Jeff Bezos, Blue Origin has a NASA contract for the third moon landing by astronauts under the Artemis program.

United Launch Alliance is also said to be targeting a nighttime launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Its Atlas V rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 41 at 10:04 p.m. EST, carrying a ViaSat broadband satellite. 

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ULA's mission had also been delayed twice because a vent valve issue with its booster's liquid-oxygen tank.

If both launches are successful, they will mark the ninety-fifth and ninety-sixth launches of the year on Florida's Space Coast, bringing the region closer to a record 100 launches in 2025.

The milestone follows SpaceX's Starlink mission earlier this month, which set a new annual record.