The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”
