The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target 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 achieved that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government push NASA to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
