Recent solar activity has been creating spectacular night sky displays across North America. This same activity is now causing a delay for Jeff Bezos’ space company. Blue Origin has postponed the second launch of its New Glenn mega-rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
The company announced the decision just hours before the scheduled launch attempt on Wednesday. They are standing down due to the solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft. This is a science mission bound for Mars that the rocket is carrying to space for NASA. A new launch date has not been announced.
The first launch of New Glenn in January was primarily a successful demonstration mission. Blue Origin had already delayed this second launch multiple times. The company is exercising extra caution because this is the first flight where the rocket is carrying a commercial payload.
The launch was nearly attempted this past Sunday. However, a combination of poor weather, an errant cruise ship in the flight path, and some issues with the launchpad equipment forced the company to cancel that attempt.