Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform 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 payload reached space and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons 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 lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
