Blue Origin's first launch of its New Glenn rocket was supposed to send up a pair of Mars-bound satellites for NASA, but ...

Blue Origin on Thursday confirmed that NASA 's next Mars mission will be launched by the New Glenn rocket on its second ...

New Glenn, which honors John Glenn, is five times taller. Blue Origin poured more than $1 billion into New Glenn's launch site, rebuilding historic Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The two-stage New Glenn will stand more than 320 feet (98 meters) tall, with the capability to haul nearly 100,000 pounds (45 metric tons) of payload into low-Earth orbit, according to Blue Origin.

Why: This is the most notable mission this week, as it marks Blue Origin's first launch of the New Glenn rocket. The mission is called NG-1 and launches with two payloads.

On Wednesday, Blue Origin will launch its New Glenn rocket on its first-ever mission. Then, on Friday, we will get the anticipated seventh launch of Starship, which includes Starlink simulators.

The roughly 320-foot (98-meter) New Glenn is not only the first Blue Origin rocket designed to be capable of hauling satellites to space, it’s also among the most powerful in the world.