The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours EST.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
