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The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry 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 government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

For this new mission Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.

Space Race

Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.

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

“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”