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Blue Origin, founded by entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, was forced to postpone the highly anticipated launch of its New Glenn rocket on Sunday because of unfavorable weather conditions at the Florida launch site.

Launch Delay Causes

Precipitation and a ground system issue caused initial delays, followed by thick clouds as the narrow time frame for launch ended, leaving managers to push back the vehicle's upcoming flight.

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

Rescheduled Attempt

To ease airspace congestion amid the government funding gap, the aviation regulator is limiting commercial rocket liftoffs from the beginning of the week.

Following the cancellation of the launch, the company said on Sunday evening that, working alongside the FAA, it was aiming for a new try as early as midweek 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 carry NASA’s Escapade twin spacecraft to the Red Planet, to study the planet’s climate history with the eventual hope of human exploration.

The mission will also act as a crucial trial of whether it can achieve booster recovery, which would represent a technical breakthrough for the company if successful.

Previous Flight

The rocket's first launch in the start of the year was marked as a achievement, as its cargo reached space and successfully performed tests.

But its first-stage booster, which was meant to be reusable, did not stick its touchdown on a platform in the ocean, and ended up destroyed during descent.

Recovery Efforts

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

Thus far, only SpaceX has managed that feat.

Industry Competition

Rival firms of billionaires Bezos and Musk are engaged in a private sector space competition that recently escalated, as NASA opened up bids for its planned moon mission, 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 Moon amid a race with China.

Increased competition between the two firms could “expand our options with regard to liftoff.”

“More launches means more ideas in space,” a former NASA chief technologist said. “It isn't a bad thing to have Blue Origin, even trailing behind.”