Blue Origin, founded 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 the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers 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 restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, the company said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload reached space and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies 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 lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
