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

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, leaving managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been heating up in the past few months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease traffic in the skies during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches from Monday.

After scrubbing the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 98-meter 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 long-term goal of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

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

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its landing on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.

Thus far, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on NASA to accelerate its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against China.

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

“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”