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Blue Origin, owned by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, had to delay the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable weather factors at Cape Canaveral.

Mission Postponement Causes

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the 88-minute launch window ended, leaving mission controllers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

New Launch Window

To ease traffic in the skies amid the US federal government shutdown, the aviation regulator is limiting private space launches from Monday.

After scrubbing the mission, the company announced late Sunday that, working alongside the FAA, it was targeting a new try as early as Wednesday within a window of 2.50pm to 4.17pm Eastern Standard time.

Launch Goals

When it eventually launches, the 322-foot New Glenn rocket will transport NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to Mars, in an effort to study the planet’s climate history with the long-term goal of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also act as a crucial trial of its ability to perform booster recovery, which would prove a major advancement for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

New Glenn’s inaugural flight in the start of the year was considered a success, as its cargo reached space and completed tests.

But its main rocket section, which was meant to be reusable, failed to make its touchdown on a ocean-based target in the Atlantic, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Landing Attempts

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

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Space Race

Rival firms of billionaires Musk and Bezos are engaged in a private sector space competition that has grown more intense lately, as NASA opened up bids for its lunar exploration program, noting that one company was lagging behind.

Donald Trump’s second term has involved the government pile pressure on the agency to speed up its progress to launch astronauts to the lunar surface amid a race with the Asian nation.

More rivalry between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to launch.”

“More launches means greater innovation in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a bad thing to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”