NASA’s ESCAPADE Spacecraft Return to Florida to Prepare for Launch

NASA’s twin ESCAPADE (Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers) spacecraft are back in Florida in preparation for launch this fall.

The two spacecraft are destined to orbit Mars, where they will study the structure of the Martian magnetic field, how it interacts with space weather, and how this interaction drives the planet’s atmospheric escape. The information gained from the ESCAPADE spacecraft will enable us to better protect future human and robotic missions to the Red Planet.

The ESCAPADE spacecraft arrived at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility in Titusville, Florida, on Sept. 16 from Rocket Lab’s Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California, where it was designed, built, and tested.

The spacecraft were previously in Florida in 2024, but had returned to California after NASA decided to stand down from a launch attempt last year.

Before propellant loading and vehicle integration, Rocket Lab engineers will complete inspections and functional tests in the Astrotech cleanroom.

Launch is scheduled to occur no earlier than this fall on Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket.

The ESCAPADE mission is funded by NASA’s Heliophysics Division and is part of the NASA Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration program. The mission is led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory, with key partners including Rocket Lab; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Embry Riddle Aeronautical University; and Advanced Space LLC. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, secured the launch service with Blue Origin under the VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) contract.

By Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.