Twin Satellites Built by Rocket Lab for NASA's ESCAPADE Mission Complete Successful Trans-Mars Injection Burns, Setting Course for the Red Planet
Key Highlights
- ➤Rocket Lab (RKLB) twin ESCAPADE spacecraft completed trans-Mars injection burns
- ➤TMI burns achieved greater than 99% overall accuracy, with less than 1-degree attitude error
- ➤Blue and Gold completed autonomous approximately 10-minute burns two days apart
- ➤Mars orbit insertion is scheduled for September 2027
- ➤Rocket Lab delivered both ESCAPADE spacecraft three and a half years after contract award
Expert Statements
Sir Peter Beck, Founder and CEO of Rocket Lab
“A phenomenal amount of work goes into a successful trans-Mars injection burn, from considered spacecraft design and precision trajectory planning to meticulous on-orbit operations. Performing these TMI maneuvers flawlessly is a testament to the relentless execution of the Rocket Lab team and the ongoing close collaboration of our mission partners at UC Berkeley and NASA. Next stop, Mars”
LONG BEACH, Calif., Nov. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rocket Lab Corporation (Nasdaq: RKLB), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced that the two spacecraft it designed and built for NASA and the University of California, Berkeley's Space Sciences Laboratory have completed their trans-Mars injection (TMI) burns. The twin spacecraft, named Blue and Gold, will study Mars' magnetosphere for the Escape and Plasma Acceleration and Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission.
Once at Mars, Blue and Gold will work in tandem to measure how the solar wind strips ions from the planet's upper atmosphere. The data will help scientists reconstruct Mars' atmospheric escape history, characterize its space weather environment, and inform planning for future human exploration.
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