Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
