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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving managers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Bezos' firm and Musk's space company has been heating up in recent months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To relieve airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs starting Monday.

Following the cancellation of the mission, Blue Origin announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as midweek within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

Upon successful liftoff, the 98-meter New Glenn rocket will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed experiments.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration push NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.

More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”