Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue led to initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed experiments.
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 the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress 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,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
