The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload reached space and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
