Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover 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 heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government push the agency to speed up its timeline 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 liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
