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Blue was slated to fly NASA's Mars-exploring Escapade satellites as passengers on the imminent first flight of its 320-foot tall New Glenn rocket. NASA signaled late last week that it had changed its mind, saying it was halting all pre-launch preparations for the twin satellites to avoid "significant cost, schedule, and technical challenges associated with potentially removing fuel from the spacecraft in the event of a launch delay." It carefully noted that such a delay "could be caused by a number of factors," SpaceNews reported .
Behind this careful wording, it's easy to see that NASA's management had become wary of the way Blue Origin was preparing for New Glenn's first launch. Complex orbital mechanics mean that Escapade had to leave Earth in a narrow window between October 13 and 21, leaving no margin for error in preparations for New Glenn's first flight. The rocket has been developed very, very slowly since 2013, mostly in secret, in keeping with the company's motto "Gradatim Ferociter," which translates as "step-by-step, ferociously."
Blue critics have long pointed out that New Glenn is far behind schedule, and the company eemed to step into a high gear and race to launch the rocket into space only after Bezos hired a fresh, new CEO , David Limp--formerly a senior vice president at Amazon--to run the company at the end of 2023.
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