The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a ground system issue led to early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.
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.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government push NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
