Jeff Bezos scored one of the biggest wins of his space career this week. The Guardian reports that Blue Origin’s massive New Glenn rocket finally launched from Cape Canaveral on Thursday, sending two NASA Mars probes toward the Red Planet while landing its first booster stage in a major technical milestone.
The 321-foot-tall New Glenn rocket lifted off after several days of weather-related delays, including lightning warnings and a solar storm earlier in the week. Mission controllers celebrated as the reusable first stage separated cleanly and descended toward a floating platform in the Atlantic, touching down upright for the first time in the rocket’s history.
According to AP News, they chanted “Next stop, moon!” Blue Origin’s CEO, Dave Limp, also said, per Reuters, “We achieved full mission success today, and I am so proud of the team.”
New Glenn successfully completed its second mission by deploying @NASA’s ESCAPADE twin spacecraft, powering on and transmitting data for @Viasat’s HaloNet technology demonstration, and landing the fully reusable first stage on Jacklyn. Learn more: https://t.co/a4PycrFeEP pic.twitter.com/knH7Mf5uts
— Blue Origin (@blueorigin) November 13, 2025
The two identical Mars orbiters, known as Blue and Gold, have a specific track to follow as part of the Escapade mission. NASA said the twin probes will spend about a year orbiting Earth before performing a gravity assist maneuver that will slingshot them toward Mars in late 2027. Once there, Blue and Gold will fly in a highly elliptical orbit to measure space weather, atmospheric escape, and how charged particles interact with the planet’s weak magnetic field.
For Bezos, the moment represents a long-awaited breakthrough. New Glenn has been in development for more than a decade and faced repeated delays due to engine testing setbacks, supply chain issues, and fierce competition from SpaceX. Thursday’s launch showed Blue Origin is finally moving into the heavyweight class of deep-space capable rockets.
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 14, 2025
The team was particularly excited about the launch with Escapade’s lead scientist, Rob Lillis, explaining why the mission is so important. “Escapade is going to bring an unprecedented stereo viewpoint because we’re going to have two spacecraft at the same time.”
Engineers were especially relieved by the booster landing, which the company had failed to achieve in earlier tests. It had landed upright 375 miles offshore, so that they can recycle and save costs in the future. The success means Blue Origin may eventually fly lower-cost missions if the booster can be reused, something only a handful of companies have managed to do reliably.
Good overview of the landing. We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly. We’ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday. Amazing performance by… pic.twitter.com/DCEMsuSyPm
— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 14, 2025
NASA officials applauded the launch, saying it showed the agency’s growing reliance on commercial partners for deep-space science. Lillis added, “We really, really want to understand the interaction of the solar wind with Mars better than we do now.”
The Escapade orbiters are now beginning their cruise phase around Earth. Once they make their long slingshot toward Mars, NASA expects them to arrive in 2027 and operate for at least one Martian year — about 687 Earth days — sending back data on the invisible forces shaping the planet.
Congratulations @JeffBezos and the@BlueOrigin team! https://t.co/chDyNYNag3
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 13, 2025
Bezos’s space company, backed by billions in private funding, now has one of its first major scientific missions underway. And with New Glenn finally proving it can fly and land, Blue Origin is positioning itself as a serious player in the next decade of human and robotic exploration, from Earth orbit to Mars and, eventually, the Moon.
And if you’re thinking the big boys can’t play nice. Elon Musk himself sent Bezos and his team a congratulatory message. Because race or not, a win in science is a win for everybody.
