Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of adverse weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Reasons
Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Space Race
Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
