🔗 Share this article

The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and completed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.

The current administration has involved the government push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”