Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Previous Flight
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first 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 has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.
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 said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
