The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
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.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
