Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay 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 caused early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos 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, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
