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The aerospace company, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to unfavorable meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a ground system issue led to early setbacks, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing mission controllers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.

Following the cancellation of the launch, the company announced on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as soon as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Previous Flight

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

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

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

Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the administration pile pressure on the agency to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.

Increased competition between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”