Kent-based Blue Origin’s New Glenn’s second stage tank is transported on site at Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. COURTESY PHOTO, Blue Origin

Kent-based Blue Origin’s New Glenn’s second stage tank is transported on site at Launch Complex 36 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. COURTESY PHOTO, Blue Origin

NASA selects Kent-based Blue Origin for Mars mission launch contract

New Glenn rocket scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida in late 2024

NASA awarded Kent-based Blue Origin a contract to study the magnetic field around Mars with a launch target date of late 2024.

Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) will launch on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket from Space Launch Complex-36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, according to a Feb. 9 NASA press release.

Blue Origin is one of 13 companies NASA selected for Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contracts in 2022. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manages the VADR contracts. As part of VADR, the fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts have a five-year ordering period with a maximum total value of $300 million across all contracts.

NASA and Blue Origin did not release the value of this contract.

“ESCAPADE follows a long tradition of NASA Mars science and exploration missions, and we’re thrilled NASA’s Launch Services Program has selected New Glenn to launch the instruments that will study Mars’ magnetosphere,” said Jarrett Jones, senior vice president, New Glenn, Blue Origin.

ESCAPADE will study Mars’ magnetosphere – the magnetized area of space around the planet – using two identical small spacecraft, which will provide simultaneous two-point observations, according to NASA. The spacecraft will help provide researchers a better understanding of how the magnetosphere interacts with the solar wind, and how energy and plasma enter and leave the magnetosphere.

Each satellite will carry three instruments: a magnetometer for measuring magnetic field, an electrostatic analyzer to measure ions and electrons, and a Langmuir probe for measuring plasma density and solar extreme ultraviolet flux.

It will take ESCAPADE about 11 months to arrive at Mars after leaving Earth’s orbit, where both spacecraft will spend several months adjusting their orbits before they are in position to best capture data about the magnetosphere, according to NASA. Studying different magnetospheres gives scientists a better understanding of space weather, which can protect astronauts and satellites both as they orbit Earth and explore the solar system.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also is the founder of Blue Origin, which opened in Kent in 2000. The aerospace company expanded its headquarters in 2020 to a 236,000-square-foot blue-colored facility along 76th Avenue South between South 212th and South 228th streets.

Blue Origin launched its first rides into space in 2021 and eventually plans to have people living and working in space.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in Business

Joshua Harris is a U.S. Army and National Guard veteran who runs a security company out of Kent. Courtesy photo
King County veteran selected to national business-growth program

In October, South King County-based company Cascadia Global Security was chosen to… Continue reading

t
Bezos’ Kent-based Blue Origin enters presidential endorsement controversy

Company leaders met with Trump shortly after Bezos’ Washington Post decided against any endorsement

Paul Raftis (right) of Paolo’s Italian learned how to cook from his mother, Darlene Risse Raftis (left). Courtesy photo.
Vittoria! Paolo’s Italian wins big

It’s been a good month for Paolo’s Italian Restaurant in Kent —… Continue reading

Best of Kent 2024 winners announced!
Best of Kent 2024 winners: See the list here

Check out the Kent Reporter’s special section.

t
Maggie’s on Meeker owner receives state Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Honor given to Raman Arora at statewide conference in Walla Walla for bringing Main Streets to life

t
Kent-based Blue Origin completes 27th mission to space

Company debuts second vehicle in efforts to meet growing customer demand to board flights

(Photo from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Image Library)
Health insurance premiums to rise for WA small businesses

This marks the highest increase for small employers in the last decade.

t
Top Pot Doughnuts opens new production facility in Kent

Company plans to open cafe at site in early 2025

(Screenshot)
Ladybug coffee stand co-owner sentenced for tax evasion

At his Oct. 9 sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin stated, “there is no excuse for hiding half a million dollars in a life of privilege, except greed.”

t
Airways Bistro & Beer Garden to close in downtown Kent

Lengthy patio renovation, higher rent help lead to closure after 13 years; Tap Room to remain open

t
Kent Reporter, Steve Hunter, Ben Ray receive newspaper coverage awards

At Better Newspaper Contest presented by Washington Newspaper Publishers Association