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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue led to initial delays, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting private space launches from Monday.

After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a time slot 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 the Red Planet, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.

The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and completed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as recoverable, failed to make its landing on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Recovery Efforts

For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage.

Thus far, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that feat.

Space Race

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting proposals for its planned moon mission, complaining that one company was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against China.

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

“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”