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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch closed, forcing managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Competition between Blue Origin and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.

After scrubbing the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as soon as midweek within a window of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

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

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

Previous Flight

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Landing Attempts

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

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk 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.

The current administration has seen the government push NASA to accelerate its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.

Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

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