Blue Origin's New Glenn Achieves First Stage Landing on Second Orbital Launch

Cape Canaveral, Florida – Blue Origin successfully completed its second orbital mission, NG-2, on November 13, 2025, deploying NASA’s ESCAPADE twin-spacecraft for Mars study and marking a significant milestone with the first successful landing of its reusable New Glenn first stage. The launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Launch Complex 36 was captured visually by photographer Pete Carstens, who shared "three un-edited focal lengths" via social media, linking to a YouTube video documenting the event.

The mission saw New Glenn’s seven BE-4 engines ignite, propelling the rocket skyward before the first stage executed a precise return landing on the drone ship "Jacklyn" in the Atlantic Ocean. Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp celebrated the achievement, stating, "We achieved full mission success today, and I am so proud of the team. It turns out Never Tell Me The Odds had perfect odds—never before in history has a booster this large nailed the landing on the second try."

The primary payload, NASA’s ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers), consists of two spacecraft designed to investigate how the solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and influences atmospheric escape. These spacecraft will embark on a unique trajectory, initially entering an Earth-proximity orbit before using an Earth gravity assist in fall 2026 to begin their journey to Mars, with arrival anticipated in fall 2027.

New Glenn, standing at 98 meters (322 feet) tall, is a heavy-lift launch vehicle central to Blue Origin's strategy for commercial and governmental space endeavors. Its reusable first stage is designed for a minimum of 25 flights, aiming to reduce launch costs and increase mission flexibility. This successful landing validates a key aspect of the company's reusability vision, positioning it competitively in the burgeoning space launch market.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy congratulated the teams involved, noting, "This heliophysics mission will help reveal how Mars became a desert planet, and how solar eruptions affect the Martian surface. Every launch of New Glenn provides data that will be essential when we launch MK-1 through Artemis." The NG-2 mission also served as the vehicle's second National Security Space Launch (NSSL) certification flight, reinforcing its role in meeting national security objectives and supporting future human presence in space.