🔗 Share this article Blue Origin's Second Rocket Launch Postponed Due to Poor Weather Conditions The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral. Mission Postponement Reasons Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight. Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months. Rescheduled Attempt To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday. Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours EST. Mission Objectives Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of sending people there. The mission 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 accomplished. Earlier Mission The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests. But its main rocket section, which was designed as 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 make another attempt to recover the first stage. Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat. Space Race The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind. The current administration has involved the administration pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation. Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.” “Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”