The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency'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.
The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push NASA to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
