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The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Recovery Efforts

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

Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.

The current administration has involved the administration pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.

Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”

“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”