🔗 Share this article

Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine 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 firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Space Race

The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

Increased competition 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 stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”