Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort 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 key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and completed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX 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 Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.
Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”