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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Rainfall and a ground system issue led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Blue Origin 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 Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will carry the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to examine the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the government push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“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.”