Blue Origin hopes third time's the charm for New Glenn after two scrubbed launches

A blast from the Sun kept Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket on the pad as the Northern Lights forced NASA to halt the launch.

It has not been a good week for Jeff Bezos' rocket. A planned launch on November 9 was scrubbed due to weather, and the Blue Origin team had hoped to get the New Glenn off the pad on November 12, but it was not to be. While skywatchers were admiring an aurora, NASA scientists were fretting about the effects of the solar storm.

In an announcement, Blue Origin said: "New Glenn is ready to launch. However, due to highly elevated solar activity and its potential effects on the ESCAPADE spacecraft, NASA is postponing launch until space weather conditions improve. We are currently assessing opportunities to establish our next launch window based on forecasted space weather and range availability."

The company will attempt to launch again ...