Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
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 firm if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the administration push NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
