🔗 Share this article Jeff Bezos' Space Firm's Second Mission Delayed Because of Inclement Atmospheric Situation Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site. Mission Postponement Causes Rainfall and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight. Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months. New Launch Window To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday. Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST. Launch Goals Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration. Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished. Previous Flight New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests. But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent. Recovery Efforts In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the first stage. Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat. Industry Competition The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind. Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government push NASA to accelerate its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation. More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.” “More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”