🔗 Share this article

Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a ground system issue led to early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.

The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”