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The aerospace company, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Competition between Blue Origin and Musk's space company has been intensifying in recent months.

New Launch Window

To relieve traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting Monday.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company 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 Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the Martian atmospheric past with the long-term goal of human exploration.

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

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its payload achieved orbit and completed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be recoverable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Recovery Efforts

In its second effort the launch provider will make another attempt to recover the booster stage.

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

Industry Competition

The competing companies of tycoons Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that recently escalated, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, noting that SpaceX was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.

More rivalry between the two firms could “give us more choices with regard to launch.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist stated. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”