Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Reasons
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the administration push the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
