So, Blue Origin had another "oopsie" moment, huh? November 9, 2025, was supposed to be the day New Glenn NG-2 finally proved it wasn't just an expensive lawn ornament. Instead, we got a launch scrubbed due to weather and... wait for it... ground support equipment issues. Seriously? Ground support equipment? Is this rocket science or a demolition derby?
2:45 p.m. Eastern. Then 4:12 p.m. Eastern. Finally, kaput 4 minutes and 43 seconds before liftoff. It's like watching a toddler try to run a marathon. Except toddlers are cuter.
And a cruise ship wandered into restricted waters? You can't make this stuff up. It's like a sitcom where everything that can go wrong, does.
The "primary payload" is NASA's ESCAPADE mission – two small satellites heading to Mars to study space weather. ESCAPADE. Even the name sounds desperate. Like they’re trying to escape the reality that this whole thing might be a boondoggle.
Then there's Viasat's secondary payload, hitching a ride to test communications technologies. Because why not add another layer of complexity to an already shaky situation?
Let's be real. Are we supposed to be impressed because they're attempting to land the first stage on a ship named Jacklyn? Newsflash: landing rockets on ships isn't exactly novel anymore. SpaceX has been doing it for years. Blue Origin is playing catch-up, and they're tripping over their own shoelaces.
And get this: the FAA issued a temporary restriction on commercial launches between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time because of a government shutdown impacting air traffic controllers. A government shutdown. Seriously? The clowns in Washington can't even keep the lights on, and we're trusting them to oversee space travel? It's like putting a chimpanzee in charge of a nuclear power plant.
NG-2 is the second launch of the New Glenn. The first one, NG-1, back in January, reached orbit, but the first stage failed to land. So, they’re batting .500. Or maybe it's worse than that, considering the whole "landing the booster" thing is kind of important for reusable rocket tech.
Laura Maginnis, vice president of New Glenn mission management at Blue Origin, said that delivering ESCAPADE safely is the number one objective, and landing the booster is "also desired, but not essential." "Desired, but not essential." That's corporate speak for "we're not confident we can pull this off."
I mean, come on. If landing the booster isn't essential, then what's the point? Are they just launching rockets for the sheer spectacle of it? For the Instagram likes? This ain't a hobby, its supposed to be cutting edge technology.
Then again, maybe I'm being too harsh. Maybe space travel is just inherently difficult. Maybe Blue Origin is doing the best they can with the resources they have. Maybe… nah, who am I kidding? This is a mess.
The launch has been rescheduled for November 12, 2025, pending an FAA waiver. A waiver. Because rules are for other people, right? According to SpaceNews, the launch was scrubbed due to weather and ground support equipment issues. Blue Origin scrubs New Glenn launch of ESCAPADE - SpaceNews
Honestly, the whole thing feels like a rich guy's vanity project. Jeff Bezos wants to play astronaut, and we're all paying for it. He might as well burn money, because that's basically what's happening here.
This isn't progress; it's a slow-motion faceplant. And I, for one, am tired of watching.
