The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
