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The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Rainfall and a ground system issue led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.

Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as soon as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study 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 booster recovery, 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 cargo reached space and completed tests.

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

Recovery Efforts

For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.

Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”