Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.
Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle 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.
The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
