Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue led to early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, the company said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
