The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin 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 aviation regulator is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, 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 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, 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
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government push NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions 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.”
