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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused initial delays, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

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

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease airspace congestion during the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs from Monday.

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

Mission Objectives

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to the Red Planet, in an effort to examine the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and successfully performed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Landing Attempts

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

Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up bids for its planned moon mission, noting that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon in competition against the Asian nation.

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

“More launches means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”