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Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the eagerly awaited launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of adverse meteorological factors at the Florida launch site.

Mission Postponement Reasons

Rainfall and a technical problem on the ground led to initial delays, then came cumulus cloud cover as the narrow time frame for launch ended, forcing managers to reschedule the rocket’s planned second mission.

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

New Launch Window

To ease traffic in the skies amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is restricting private space launches starting the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the mission, the company said late Sunday that, in coordination with the FAA, it was aiming for a new try 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 carry the US space agency's two Mars-bound probes to Mars, to study the Martian atmospheric past with the eventual hope of human exploration.

Blue Origin’s launch will also serve as a crucial trial of its ability to perform reusable rocket landing, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the firm if successful.

Earlier Mission

The rocket's first launch in January was considered a achievement, as its cargo achieved orbit and completed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was designed as reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during the return phase.

Landing Attempts

For this new mission Blue Origin will try once more to land the booster stage.

Until now, only SpaceX has achieved that feat.

Industry Competition

The competing companies of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a commercial space race that has grown more intense lately, as NASA began accepting proposals for its lunar exploration program, complaining that SpaceX was falling behind schedule.

Donald Trump’s second term has seen the administration push the agency to speed up its timeline to send a crewed mission to the Moon amid a race with the Asian nation.

More rivalry between SpaceX and Blue Origin could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”

“Additional missions means greater innovation in orbit,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It can’t be a negative to have the competitor, even trailing behind.”