The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Reasons
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.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.
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 company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of billionaires 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.
The current administration has seen the government push NASA to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
