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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a ground system issue led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving mission controllers 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 ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its payload reached space and successfully performed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to land the booster stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.

The current administration has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

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

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”