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Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Reasons

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.

Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Recovery Efforts

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

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

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.

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 stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”