The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.
Launch Delay Causes
Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.
Rescheduled Attempt
To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.
After scrubbing the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.
Launch Goals
Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.
The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a success, as its payload reached space and successfully performed experiments.
But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.
Space Race
The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.
The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”
“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
