Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting 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 carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with 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 stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
