The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.
Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.
The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its payload achieved orbit and completed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.
Landing Attempts
In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage.
Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government push NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against China.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
