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The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as midweek 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 Mars, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.

Previous Flight

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

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

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

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was lagging behind.

The current administration has involved the administration push the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.

More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”