The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.
New Launch Window
To relieve traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, the company said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Mission Objectives
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past 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 represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.
Previous Flight
The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its cargo 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 descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the administration push NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.
More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”
