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The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on the weekend because of unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.

New Launch Window

To ease airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.

After scrubbing the launch, the company said late Sunday that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours EST.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

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

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a platform in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Space Race

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals 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 progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with China.

Increased competition between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”