Blue Origin is attempting to launch again tonight [Update: Delayed once more]

Last night Blue Origin scrubbed its attempt to launch its first New Glenn rocket. The company announced it will be reattempting to launch the rocket during tonight’s window of the same time. Weather, however, is currently at 70% chance of violation, potentially adding to another delay past Wednesday.

Update: Blue Origin announced a delay to January 16.

This article previously reported on potential signs of a launch attempt Tuesday morning. Some of the information still applies. That article is continued below.

According to 24/7 live streams pointed at Blue Origin’s launch site at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, flare stacks are active. This means that teams are preparing the pad’s propellant system to begin fueling the New Glenn rocket for another launch.

Marine assets are also on the move to support the mission.

However, with no official confirmation, there’s a chance that Blue Origin could be just testing out a subsystem that was causing problems yesterday.

Another possibility is that teams are prepping for a potential launch tonight and are getting ahead on early steps as they wait for official word. Given Blue Origin’s public relations strategy is not the most open, we might be waiting at least a little bit longer before hearing the official word.

Last night, unofficial reports stated that a vent line was blocked with ice, and teams were unable to melt it to clear the line. The official reason for the scrub was that a “subsystem” anomaly was causing the halt to launch operations.

The possibility of Blue Origin getting that system fixed in a day is plausible, although the lack of official word seems weird.

If Blue Origin were to launch tonight, expect a similar window of 1:00 A.M. to 4:00 A.M. CT. However, local weather does not look great for tonight; Space Launch Delta 45, which oversees the Eastern Range, gave New Glenn a 70% chance of violating launch constraints.

Also, if New Glenn doesn’t launch tonight, it is unlikely that Blue Origin will make an attempt tomorrow. A launch of two lunar landers by SpaceX shares a similar launch window. With one of those landers being for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Service Program, it will take precedence over the range. SLD 45’s weather report does not include tomorrow as a launch possibility and only lists Wednesday night as a backup date.