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The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Reasons

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

Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in the past few months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin said late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as soon as midweek within a window of afternoon hours EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Previous Flight

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 meant to be recoverable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

In its second effort the launch provider will try once more to land the booster stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.

More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”