The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
