Take two: Blue Origin launch crews will again attempt to send the first New Glenn rocket skyward early Tuesday morning — but the company acknowledges the weather forecast looks poor at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
In unusual fashion for a mission of this magnitude, Blue Origin kept the space community guessing Monday before dropping the launch announcement after 6:40 p.m. Timing details: The three-hour New Glenn launch window will open at 1 a.m. EST Tuesday.
Blue Origin crews scrubbed Monday’s early morning maiden launch try of the 321-foot rocket shortly after 3 a.m., citing the need to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue. What happened? Ice formed in a purge line on an auxiliary power unit that powers some hydraulic systems, the company later announced.
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The Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron only forecasts a 30% chance of favorable conditions during Tuesday’s three-hour launch window, citing threats from cumulus clouds, thick cloud layers and liftoff winds.
If the two-stage New Glenn rocket lifts off, the reusable first stage will descend and target landing hundreds of miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean atop Blue Origin’s drone ship Jacklyn, named for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ mother.
Check back for live FLORIDA TODAY Space Team launch coverage updates on this page, starting about two hours before the 1 a.m. Tuesday launch window opens.
Blue Origin: ‘Incredible piece of machinery’: Former NASA chief looks forward to Blue Origin New Glenn launch
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For the latest news from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, visit floridatoday.com/space.
Rick Neale is a Space Reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Neale at Rneale@floridatoday.com. Twitter/X: @RickNeale1
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This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Blue Origin to try launch again: What to know before liftoff from Cape