The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
