🔗 Share this article

Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its payload reached space and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against China.

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

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”