Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”