Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To ease traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
