Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
