Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
