Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to push back 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 ease airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration pile pressure on the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
