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The aerospace company, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday due to adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a technical problem on the ground caused early setbacks, then came thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers to reschedule the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

Rescheduled Attempt

To relieve airspace congestion amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from Monday.

After scrubbing the launch, the company announced late Sunday that, in coordination with the regulatory body, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Mission Objectives

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a major advancement for the firm if successful.

Previous Flight

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

But its main rocket section, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its landing on a platform in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Recovery Efforts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of tycoons Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as the space agency began accepting bids for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to send a crewed mission to the lunar surface in competition against the Asian nation.

Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options 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.”