On Thursday, November 13, 2025, Blue Origin's mighty New Glenn rocket rose skyward from Cape Canaveral in a blaze of fire and vapor 🚀. The mission carried NASA's twin EscaPADE satellites, marking Blue Origin's first science payload delivery for the agency.
After days of delays due to cloudy skies and a geomagnetic storm, the seven BE-4 engines roared to life, pushing New Glenn through bright afternoon skies. Fans around the world tuned into the live webcast as the rocket thundered off its pad, feeling like a real-life space epic.
Ten minutes after liftoff, the spotlight turned to the 17-story first-stage booster. Named "Never Tell Me the Odds"—a nod to Han Solo's iconic line—it descended back to Earth and landed perfectly on the barge Jacklyn, honoring Jeff Bezos' mother, dancing across the Atlantic waves. This triumph comes after a first landing attempt fell short in January 🎯👏.
Meanwhile, New Glenn's upper stage delivered the EscaPADE probes into their trajectory for a 22-month voyage to the Red Planet 🌌. These satellites will study Mars' space weather and help unlock secrets about its atmosphere.
Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp celebrated the "full mission success," and even SpaceX founder Elon Musk joined the applause, tweeting, "Congratulations @JeffBezos and the @BlueOrigin team!" 🤝
This milestone boosts competition in reusable rocketry and brings us closer to more cost-effective space exploration. As Blue Origin builds momentum, the space race heats up—Mars is watching! 🌍➡️🔴
Reference(s):
Blue Origin launches NASA Mars mission, sticks booster landing
cgtn.com
