NASA announced Friday it was forgoing the planned October launch of a pair of Mars-bound satellites on what was supposed to be the first launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral.
Blue Origin in turn announced it was moving up what was supposed to be its second flight and that it was now targeting November for New Glenn's debut.
NASA stated the decision was made because of the chances of a delay could lead to cost increases for the mission dubbed ESCAPADE, which stands for Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers.
Blue Origin set to test fire New Glenn stage at Canaveral launch pad
A big deciding factor was the hurdle of having to unload fuel from the satellites if Blue Origin missed the launch window or other factors caused a delay, NASA stated in a release.
"This is an important mission for NASA, and it's critical we have sufficient margin in our prelaunch work to ensure we are ready to fly a tight planetary window," said Bradley Smith, NASA's Launch Services Office director.
The next available window for ESCAPADE would fall to next year.
Traffic piling up at Port Canaveral with space industry vessels
"We're supportive of NASA's decision to target the ESCAPADE mission for no earlier than spring 2025 and look forward to the flight," Blue Origin posted in an update on X. "We plan to move up New Glenn's second flight, originally scheduled for December, into November. New Glenn will carry Blue Ring technology and mark our first National Security Space Launch certification flight."
Blue Origin has been amid a frenetic pace to be ready for what had been an Oct. 13 target launch including plans to perform a hot fire test on New Glenn's second stage at Canaveral's Launch Complex 36 in the coming days. It also welcomed the landing vessel named Jaclyn to Port Canaveral this week that will eventually be used for when the rocket's first stage attempts a recovery landing at sea similar to how SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets return after launch.
NASA awarded Blue Origin a $20 million launch task order for ESCAPADE in February 2023. The satellites were constructed by fellow rocket launch provider Rocket Lab and will study how solar winds interacts with Mars' magnetic fields.
"This mission can help us study the atmosphere at Mars -- key information as we explore farther and farther into our solar system and need to protect astronauts and spacecraft from space weather," said Nicky Fox, NASA's associate administrator for science. "We're committed to seeing ESCAPADE safely into space, and I look forward to seeing it off the ground and on its trip to Mars."
Had it launched in October, the satellites would have had an 11-month trip to Mars. NASA and Blue Origin are looking into the next opportunity, but it's unclear how long their trip will take.