Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.
Mission Postponement Causes
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.
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 Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.
After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.
Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the company if accomplished.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage.
Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.
The current administration has involved the government push the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.
More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”
“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
