Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.
Launch Delay Reasons
Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.
Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.
New Launch Window
To ease airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches starting Monday.
After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.
Mission Objectives
When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there.
Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.
Earlier Mission
New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.
But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.
Recovery Efforts
For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to recover the booster stage.
Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.
Industry Competition
The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.
The current administration has involved the administration pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.
Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”
“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”
