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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its powerful launch vehicle on the weekend due to unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving mission controllers 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 traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Industry Competition

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

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency 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 liftoff.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”