The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
