The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort 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 booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition 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 pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
