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The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to unfavorable meteorological factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving mission controllers to push back the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been heating up in recent months.

New Launch Window

To relieve airspace congestion during the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches from the beginning of the week.

After scrubbing the mission, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm EST.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a key test of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.

Previous Flight

The rocket's first launch in January was considered a success, as its payload achieved orbit and successfully performed tests.

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

Recovery Efforts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its timeline to launch astronauts to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.

More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”