The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
