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The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to unfavorable meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting Monday.

After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was marked as a success, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

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

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

Industry Competition

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

The current administration has seen the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up 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 liftoff.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”