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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to delay the highly anticipated liftoff of its powerful launch vehicle on Sunday because of adverse weather factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue led to initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving mission controllers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

Rivalry between Bezos' firm and Elon Musk’s SpaceX has been intensifying in the past few months.

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease traffic in the skies during the US federal government shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration is limiting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company announced on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for another attempt as soon as midweek within a time slot of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot tall launch vehicle will transport the US space agency's Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of sending people there.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a key test of whether it can achieve reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

Previous Flight

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in January was marked as a success, as its cargo reached space and completed experiments.

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and instead was lost during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

In its second effort Blue Origin will make another attempt to recover the first stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has managed that accomplishment.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are locked in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting bids for its planned moon mission, noting that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the administration pile pressure on NASA to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the Moon amid a race with China.

More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “give us more choices with regard to liftoff.”

“More launches means more ideas in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”