The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Space Race
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.
Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
