Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers 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.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
