The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement 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, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
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 early as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its payload reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push the agency to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
