The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, 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 Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its payload achieved orbit and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its progress 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 liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
