The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the government push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
