The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, 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 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 considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon 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 stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
