The Feds Couldn’t Stop New Glenn From Launching, But This Solar Storm Sure Did

Blue Origin has again postponed the second launch of its New Glenn megarocket. This time, it wasn’t bad weather or a wayward cruise ship that got in the way—it was an ongoing severe geomagnetic storm.

Last night, the arrival of two coronal mass ejections—huge eruptions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s surface—triggered dazzling auroras as far south as Alabama. NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a G4—or “severeâ€â€”geomagnetic storm watch through Wednesday, as another larger CME is expected to reach Earth around midday.

New Glenn was set to lift off no earlier than 2:50 p.m. ET from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. It’s worth noting that the Federal Aviation Administration recently issued a ground stop on daytime commercial space launches during the government shutdown, but Blue Origin received an exemption for this launch.

Due to the risks associated with launching during a severe geomagnetic storm, Blue Origin opted to postpone the event until space weather conditions clear up, according to a company statement posted on X just before 10 a.m. ET.  The statement did not specify a new launch date.

NG-2 Update: New Glenn is ready to launch. However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve. We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch…

— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 12, 2025

Why Blue Origin decided to scrub

Geomagnetic storms are major disturbances in Earth’s magnetosphere that typically occur when the Sun blasts a CME toward our planet. These disturbances can increase the likelihood of aurora at latitudes farther south. They can also disrupt power systems, radio communications, and spacecraft operations.

According to the SWPC, Wednesday’s geomagnetic storm could impact some critical infrastructure, “but mitigation is possible.†Had Blue Origin moved forward with the launch, solar weather could have messed with the communications and navigation systems that New Glenn relies on. Geomagnetic storms also heat the upper atmosphere, which can increase drag and alter ascent conditions.

It’s easy to understand why the company chose to postpone. Both Blue Origin and NASA have a lot riding on this launch, so New Glenn won’t get off the ground until conditions are just right.

High stakes for Blue Origin and NASA

This is only the second test flight for Blue Origin’s megarocket. After significant delays, Jeff Bezos’ company is under pressure to demonstrate New Glenn’s ability to serve as a deep-space launch provider. To that end, the rocket will launch NASA’s twin ESCAPADE probes on a journey to Mars during this test flight.

The $80 million NASA mission raises the stakes for New Glenn. ESCAPADE (the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers mission) will use two identical spacecraft to investigate how solar wind interacts with Mars’ magnetic environment and how this drives the planet’s atmospheric escape, according to NASA.

It’s the agency’s first mission to Mars since the Perseverance rover launched in 2020, and it’s the first-ever multi-spacecraft orbital science mission to the Red Planet.

Needless to say, Blue Origin needs this next launch to go well. New Glenn’s success would make it a strong competitor for both NASA science missions and national security contracts. Here’s hoping space weather conditions clear up soon.