Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue led to early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study 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 its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”