The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon 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 carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked 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.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
