🔗 Share this article Blue Origin's Latest Rocket Launch Postponed Due to Inclement Atmospheric Situation The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral. Mission Postponement Reasons Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight. Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months. New Launch Window To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week. After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time. Mission Objectives When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration. The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the company if accomplished. Previous Flight New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and successfully performed tests. But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent. Landing Attempts For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage. Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat. Space Race Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind. The current administration has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China. More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.” “More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”