Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin delays New Glenn rocket launch due to unfavourable weather conditions

Blue Origin's heavy-lift vehicle, New Glenn, had to postpone its launch due to the combination of bad weather and ground-system issues.

The twin spacecraft project of NASA, ESCAPADE, was scheduled to launch from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, the US, with a time window of 88 minutes for the Mars deployment. However, the operation was impeded by rain, thick clouds, and a ground system issue that was reported, and hence the mission managers decided to stop their activities.

The Amazon CEO and billionaire Jeff Bezos-owned rocket company said the decision to delay the launch was due to the malfunction of the ground system and weather conditions in the launch area.

Another attempt is planned for Wednesday between 2:50 and 4:17 pm local time (1950-2117 GMT), as per the report by NDTV.

Blue Origin f

aces significant risks in the ESCAPADE mission. With a height of 98 metres (322 ft), the New Glenn rocket is intended for partially reusable missions. This trip will test Blue Origin's capacity to recover the rocket's first-stage booster in addition to sending NASA's twin spacecraft towards Mars to study the planet's magnetosphere and temperature.

The cargo of New Glenn successfully entered orbit during its inaugural flight in January, but the rocket did not land as planned. However, its first-stage booster—which was supposed to be reusable—was lost during descent rather than sticking its landing on a platform in the Atlantic.

The mission is being undertaken as Elon Musk's SpaceX becomes more competitive. Blue Origin will make another attempt to regain the booster stage in its second attempt. Only Musk's business, SpaceX, has accomplished that so far.

According to industry insiders, this launch is a crucial sign of Blue Origin's preparedness to take on industry leader SpaceX. “How well they're doing and how much progress they've made,” George Nield, an aerospace executive, told AFP, stressing the increased pressure on Blue Origin to deliver results.

Other aggravating variables include the tighter scheduling by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which has prohibited commercial rocket launches beginning Monday, as a result of the US federal government shutdown and the ensuing airspace congestion.

Mason Peck, a former NASA chief technologist and professor of aeronautics at Cornell University, stated that heightened rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options concerning launch.”

“More launches mean more ideas in space,” Peck said, adding, “It cannot be a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”