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The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches starting Monday.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort 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 its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

Previous Flight

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that SpaceX was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

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

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”