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The aerospace company, founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological conditions at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Reasons

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground 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 Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

New Launch Window

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

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, to examine the Martian atmospheric past 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 prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.

Previous Flight

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

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

For this new mission the launch provider will try once more to recover the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency opened up bids for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on 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 more ideas in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”