Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.
The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to recover the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
