The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the administration push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
