Jeff Bezos-backed space company Blue Origin LLC is slated to launch its New Glenn rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, a crucial test in the startup’s quest to challenge SpaceX.
The rocket, roughly 320 feet (97.5 meters) tall, will be sending two Rocket Lab Corp.-made spacecraft toward Mars to study how solar winds interact with the planet’s atmosphere. The mission, called Escapade (for “Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers”) is New Glenn’s first for NASA.