Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
