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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend due to adverse weather conditions at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule 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 airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from Monday.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as Wednesday within a window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.

The mission will also act as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload reached space and completed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to recover the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Space Race

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.

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

“More launches means greater innovation in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even not in the lead.”