Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
