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The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the eagerly awaited liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of unfavorable weather conditions at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

Rescheduled Attempt

To relieve traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is restricting commercial rocket liftoffs starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, Blue Origin announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for a new try as early as midweek within a window of afternoon hours EST.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.

The mission will also serve as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the company if accomplished.

Earlier Mission

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

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during descent.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the first stage.

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

Industry Competition

Rival firms of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as the space agency opened up proposals for its planned moon mission, noting that one company was falling behind schedule.

The current administration has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with China.

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

“Additional missions means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”