Darkness falls as a Blue Origin New Glenn rocket is prepped for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station November 8, 2025. The rocket is scheduled to launch Sunday afternoon with NASA’s ESCAPADE mission. Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK

A massive solar storm that unleashed views of the northern lights across the United States is also now responsible for foiling the launch of Blue Origin's towering New Glenn rocket.

Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos' commercial space technology company, has had the 322-foot spacecraft vertical on its launch pad in Florida for days ahead of a mission to propel NASA satellites to Mars.

But poor weather scuttled Blue Origin's first launch attempt Nov. 9. And now, powerful bursts of energy from the sun prompted the company to postpone another attempt set for Wednesday, Nov. 12.

The Space Weather Prediction Center, which issued a nearly unheard of "severe" geomagnetic storm watch, said the resulting solar activity has a high chance of interfering with both ground-based and orbital technology, including spacecraft. For that reason, Blue Origin and NASA announced that the scheduled launch would no longer take place.

Here's everything to know about how the solar storm interfered with Blue Origin's launch, and when New Glenn could now get off the ground.

Solar storm forces Blue Origin to scrub New Glenn rocket launch again

The New Glenn rocket was ready to launch Wednesday, Nov. 12, from Florida's Space Coast along the Atlantic before Blue Origin announced liftoff would be postponed for a second time.

NASA had selected the heavy-lift launch vehicle for its ESCAPADE mission to send twin satellites on a long journey to Mars.

"Due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve," Blue Origin said in an update on its website and in a post on social media site X.

The postponement is the second time Blue Origin has had to delay the mission after clouds rolling into Florida hampered the initial launch attempt on Nov. 9.

When will Blue Origin launch New Glenn now?

A new date for another launch attempt has not been announced.

"We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch window based on forecasted space weather and range availability," Blue Origin said online.

The rocket will eventually get off the ground from Launch Complex 36 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Base – a site that Blue Origin invested $1 billion to rebuild.

What is the solar storm? What it means for Earth, northern lights

A powerful geomagnetic solar storm blasted Earth on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and is expected to continue into the following day, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The agency's Space Weather Prediction Center, which is tracking the storm, ranks current levels at a G3. But levels approaching the intensity of a G4-rated storm are still expected Wednesday, Nov. 12 – a single level away from being the most powerful solar storm possible.

For many people in United States, this means an extraordinary opportunity to gaze upon some breathtaking red and green auroras in their own backyard. But a geomagnetic storm of that intensity also brings with it threats to U.S. power systems, GPS signals and orbital infrastructure.

What is the New Glenn rocket launch?

Named in honor of NASA astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, New Glenn is a powerful two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle manufactured by Blue Origin.

The rocket is built to be reusable, with the first stage – or booster that provides the initial burst of thrust at liftoff – designed to last for at least 25 flights, according to Blue Origin. The booster being used in the upcoming spaceflight is nicknamed Never Tell Me the Odds.

The spacecraft has only launched once so far, with its maiden flight coming Jan. 16, 2025, from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

While the booster itself was lost during the descent, the upper stage still reached orbit in the debut, prompting Blue Origin to hail the mission as a success.

Blue Origin envisions that New Glenn will be capable of shuttling Amazon's Project Kuiper satellites to orbit and undertaking other missions for paying customers – including NASA and telecommunications providers.

What is NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission?

For Blue Origin, the mission is referred to as NG-2. But for NASA, the impending launch of the New Glenn rocket will help commence the U.S. space agency's ESCAPADE mission to Mars.

After the booster separates from the rest of the vehicle, Blue Origin will once again attempt to land the booster on a drone ship, named Jacklyn, several hundred miles offshore in the Atlantic. The upper stage vehicle carrying the payload fairing will continue in space, helping to send NASA's twin ESCAPADE satellites to Mars.

The ESCAPADE satellites – short for Escape and Plasma Acceleration Dynamics Explorers – will eventually separate from the spacecraft to continue on their own independent journey, arriving in Martian orbit in September 2027. The science mission itself to observe solar winds and space weather would then take place from June 2028 to May 2029.

New Glenn will additionally carry technology from telecommunications company Viasat that could be used for NASA missions in low-Earth orbit.

Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did solar storm force New Glenn scrub? Blue Origin postpones rocket launch again

Reporting by Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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