The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, 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 amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to land the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
