"On Thursday afternoon, justbefore 4 p.m. ET, Blue Origin's massive New Glenn rocket dazzled the Florida sky and sent a pair of NASA spacecraft bound for Mars. The 321-foot rocket roared off the pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after several days of weather delays. On board the New Glenn is NASA's Escapade mission, twin orbiters designed to study Mars' upper atmosphere and magnetic fields."
"As the upper stage continued toward space, the first-stage booster separated and returned safely to Earth, touching down upright on Blue Origin's offshore barge, named Jacklyn after Bezos' mother. The successful recovery drew cheers from mission control and marked a crucial milestone in Blue Origin's push to make its rockets reusable. "Next stop, moon!" employees can be seen chanting in the livestream video as the booster landed against the Atlantic horizon."
"After the launch, Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp congratulated the team and shared close-up still photos from the launch and the recovery. The Escapade satellites will spend the next year orbiting near Earth before slinging toward Mars in 2026. They're expected to arrive in 2027, where they'll begin mapping how solar winds strip away the Martian atmosphere, which would offer insights that could help NASA plan for future astronaut missions."
Blue Origin launched its 321-foot New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, carrying NASA's twin Escapade orbiters to study Mars' upper atmosphere and magnetic fields. The first-stage booster separated and returned to touch down upright on Blue Origin's offshore barge Jacklyn, marking the first successful New Glenn booster recovery and advancing the company's reusable-rocket efforts. Employees chanted as the booster landed, and CEO Dave Limp shared photos and congratulations after the flight. The Escapade satellites will orbit near Earth for about a year, depart for Mars in 2026, arrive in 2027, and map how solar wind strips Mars' atmosphere to help future astronaut planning.
Read at Business Insider
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