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Blue Origin, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a ground system issue caused initial delays, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the mission, 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 window of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if successful.

Previous Flight

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

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown 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 recover the booster stage.

Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Space Race

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration pile pressure on the agency to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It can’t be a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”