The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, 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 tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the booster stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up 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 speed up 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 launch.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
