Blue Origin used different engines on Never Tell Me the Odds than on the rocket that launched NASA's Escapade satellites.
NG-2 sent NASA's ESCAPADE probes toward Mars.
Blue Origin’s GS1-7E02 booster, "Never Tell Me The Odds," completed refurbishment after the NG-2 EscaPADE launch.
Blue Origin landed its first reusable New Glenn first-stage booster in November during NG-2, which launched NASA’s ESCAPADE Mars mission.
After the NG-2 (EscaPADE) mission in November 2025, Blue Origin completed two of the four flights required for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2 certification.
In November 2026 both ESCAPADE spacecraft will perform an Earth gravity assist maneuver to slingshot toward Mars.
Rocket Lab was selected under contract from UCB-SSL to design, build, and provide commissioning operations for two high delta-V Explorer-class interplanetary spacecraft for ESCAPADE.
The twin ESCAPADE spacecraft, known as Blue and Gold, were launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in November 2025.
ESCAPADE science operations at Mars are expected to begin in 2028.
Rocket Lab will hand over operational control of the ESCAPADE mission to the University of California Berkeley Space Sciences Laboratory (UCB-SSL).
The ESCAPADE spacecraft will continue operating near L2 until November 2026 to allow UCB-SSL to test science instruments and collect early heliophysics data in the Earth’s magnetotail.
Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated spacecraft production for ESCAPADE included in-house design and build of solar arrays, reaction wheels, propellant tanks, star trackers, radios, avionics, and flight software.
Both ESCAPADE spacecraft have been deemed fully operational at the Earth–Sun Lagrange Point 2 (L2).
Rocket Lab designed, built, and launched the two ESCAPADE spacecraft.
Rocket Lab moved from concept to launch readiness for ESCAPADE in just over three years.
UCB-SSL commissioned the ESCAPADE spacecraft and will lead science operations at L2 and prepare the mission for its cruise to Mars.
Commissioning of the twin NASA ESCAPADE Mars spacecraft has been completed.
The ESCAPADE mission will study how the solar wind strips molecules from Mars’ atmosphere to inform Mars atmospheric escape history, space weather environment, and future human exploration strategies.
NG-3 will utilize a flight-proven booster nicknamed "Never Tell Me The Odds," which previously supported the EscaPADE mission to Mars in late 2025.
Rocket Lab launched the ESCAPADE twin-spacecraft mission to Mars.