🔗 Share this article

Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.

New Launch Window

To ease traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as early as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Launch Goals

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

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 company if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

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

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to recover the first stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.

More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”