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NASA has contracted Blue Origin to launch a science mission to Mars using the New Glenn launch vehicle.
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New Glenn is a heavy-lift launch vehicle that was announced in 2016 and is intended to compete with SpaceX's Falcon Heavy.
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The first flight of New Glenn was scheduled for late 2021 but was delayed. The current target launch date is 2024.
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The launch contract is through NASA's Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program, which assigned a maximum of $300 million to be split among 13 companies for launch services.
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The mission to be launched on New Glenn is the Escapade, a dual-craft Martian magnetosphere study designed and built by Rocket Lab.
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The notional launch date for Escapade is in 2024, but it may be subject to delay.
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The size of the spacecraft and its mission requirements make it unsuitable for launch on Rocket Lab's Electron.
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New Glenn has generated significant interest, including an order of 12 from Kuiper, Amazon's communication satellite constellation company.
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The mission of Escapade is to understand the structure, composition, variability, and dynamics of Mars' magnetosphere, which will support future crewed exploration programs.
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Blue Origin's New Glenn launch vehicle is still theoretical and has yet to be tested in a complete form.