🔗 Share this article Jeff Bezos' Space Firm's Latest Mission Postponed Due to Poor Weather Conditions Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site. Mission Postponement Reasons Precipitation and a ground system issue caused early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight. Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months. Rescheduled Attempt To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday. Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time. Launch Goals When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport 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. Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished. Earlier Mission New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments. But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase. Landing Attempts For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to land the first stage. Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat. Industry Competition Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule. Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government push NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation. More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.” “More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”