The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry 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 act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government push the agency to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”