The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Reasons
Rainfall and a ground system issue led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the first stage.
Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
