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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Causes

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in recent months.

New Launch Window

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.

After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act 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 considered a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.

Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Space Race

The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”