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Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to adverse meteorological conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.

After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’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 serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Recovery Efforts

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

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Space Race

The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”