Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to reschedule 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 amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved 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 the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
