Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown 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 booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
