The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of tycoons 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 one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to speed up 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 launch.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
