The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of billionaires 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 lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
