🔗 Share this article Jeff Bezos' Space Firm's Latest Rocket Launch Delayed Because of Poor Atmospheric Situation Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral. Launch Delay Causes Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight. Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months. Rescheduled Attempt To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday. Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time. Mission Objectives When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration. The mission will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful. Earlier Mission New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests. But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase. Landing Attempts In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to recover the booster stage. Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed 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 began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule. The current administration has seen the government push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation. More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.” “More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”