The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, 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.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
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.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”
