Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a window of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent 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 cargo reached space and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
