🔗 Share this article Jeff Bezos' Space Firm's Second Rocket Launch Postponed Due to Inclement Weather Conditions The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to postpone the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday due to adverse weather factors at Cape Canaveral. Launch Delay Reasons Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, followed by cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window closed, forcing mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight. Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months. Rescheduled Attempt To relieve airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week. Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said on Sunday evening that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was targeting a new try as early as midweek within a time slot of afternoon hours Eastern Standard time. Mission Objectives Upon successful liftoff, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to study the planet’s climate history 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 represent a major advancement for the firm if successful. Earlier Mission New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a achievement, as its cargo reached space and completed tests. But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and instead was lost during descent. Landing Attempts For this new mission the launch provider will make another attempt to land the first stage. Until now, only Musk’s company SpaceX has achieved that feat. Space Race The competing companies of tycoons 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 lagging behind. Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation. More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.” “Additional missions means more ideas in space,” an ex-agency official said. “It isn't a negative to have Blue Origin, even not in the lead.”