Liputan6.com, Jakarta Blue Origin successfully launched its New Glenn rocket for the second time on Thursday, November 13, 2025.
This launch marked a significant milestone as it successfully carried NASA's Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission to Mars.
Advertisement
This historic moment also marked the first successful landing of the New Glenn rocket's first stage.
The launch, which took place at 3:55:01 PM EST (8:55:01 PM UTC) from Launch Complex 36 (LC-36) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, was delayed four days due to adverse weather conditions and a solar storm.
However, this delay did not diminish the success of this important mission.
Successful Launch and Landing of New Glenn
The launch of the New Glenn rocket on November 13, 2025, was not just a routine flight, but a significant demonstration of Blue Origin's capabilities.
The rocket took off from LC-36, a facility rebuilt by Blue Origin with an investment of over $1 billion and completed in 2021.
The most notable achievement of the mission was the successful landing of New Glenn's first stage on Blue Origin's landing ship, Jacklyn, in the Atlantic Ocean.
This vertical landing happened approximately 10 minutes after liftoff.
This success is especially significant considering that New Glenn's first stage failed to land on its maiden flight in January 2025.
NASA's ESCAPADE Mission to Mars
NASA's ESCAPADE mission, carried by New Glenn, involved two twin spacecraft, nicknamed "Blue" and "Gold."
The primary objective of this mission is to study how the solar wind interacts with the magnetic environment of Mars and how this interaction causes the loss of the red planet's atmosphere.
The ESCAPADE spacecraft will spend one year in a "loiter" orbit around Earth before heading to Mars in November 2027, using Earth's gravity assist.
They are expected to arrive at Mars in September 2027 and conduct 11 months of study.
The mission is being developed by Rocket Lab for UC-Berkeley under NASA's SIMPLEx program, which focuses on developing low-cost planetary missions.
Data collected from ESCAPADE is expected to provide new insights into the evolution of the Martian atmosphere and its implications for the potential for life there.
New Glenn Rocket Technical Details
New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by Blue Origin, named in honor of astronaut John Glenn.
The rocket features a two-stage, partially reusable design, with a total height of 98 meters and a diameter of 7 meters.
New Glenn's first stage is powered by seven BE-4 engines that use liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) as propellants.
Each BE-4 engine produces 2,450 kN of thrust, totaling over 3.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.
The BE-4 engines are designed for reusability and cleaner combustion.
The second stage uses two vacuum-optimized BE-3U engines, powered by liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX).
These BE-3U engines are designed for demanding missions to a variety of orbits, including LEO, MEO, and GEO.
New Glenn is capable of carrying payloads of up to 45,000 kg to LEO and 13,600 kg to GTO.
Blue Origin's Future Missions and Prospects
In addition to the ESCAPADE mission, New Glenn's second stage also carried a Viasat HaloNet technology demonstration.
This demonstration successfully conducted the first flight test of Viasat's telemetry data relay service for NASA's Communications Services Project.
New Glenn is designed to support a variety of future missions, including satellite deployment, scientific missions, and potential human flight.
Blue Origin's customers for New Glenn include Amazon's Project Kuiper, AST SpaceMobile, and several global telecommunications providers.
The rocket is also part of the U.S. National Security Space Launch (NSSL) program, with Blue Origin currently in the certification process to meet national security objectives.
Going forward, Blue Origin plans to launch the Blue Moon Mark 1 lunar lander prototype on a demonstration mission using New Glenn.